


Diptych

by fallacyofwhat, SgtPepper007



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Art, Cussing, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Smoking, Smut, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-08-11 03:43:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 71,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16468028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallacyofwhat/pseuds/fallacyofwhat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtPepper007/pseuds/SgtPepper007
Summary: Minseok is a 24 years old fine arts student, hard-working and dedicated in his second last semester. He hates nothing more than pretentious bastards who indulge themselves in raw lust at cost of other people.Jongin, 32 years old, artist and guest professor at Minseok’s university, is exactly that type.





	1. Ceci n'est pas une pipe

**Author's Note:**

> This fan fiction is the result of a collaboration with a friend of mine, Jas. Since we share the same love for XiuKai, we couldn't resist the temptation to write a story using them as main characters while putting them in an alternate universe in which their age are reversed and in which art is greatly involved.
> 
> It is also posted on aff.
> 
> Warning: mature content in further chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｃｅｃｉ　ｎ＇ｅｓｔ　ｐａｓ　ｕｎｅ　ｐｉｐｅ »  
> eng.: ‹ this is not a pipe ›  
> Ｒｅｎé　Ｍａｇｒｉｔｔｅ

Standing outside his workplace, Minseok took a drag on his cigarette and smiled at one of the regulars, an elderly lady. His shift was over and he was about to drag his body to the university. He still had to finish an assignment for one of his classes.

He leaned on a billboard at the bus stop, checking the arrival/departure schedules for the next bus. Working at the outskirts of the city had its perks but also some disadvantages, like when it came to public transportation. He pulled out his phone and checked the time; eight more minutes until it arrived. He changed his position and sat himself down on one of the benches, his backpack digging into his back, but he couldn’t bother removing it. Tipping his head back, he leaned against the glass separating the bus stop and the street and straightened out his legs, the action easing any lingering tension.

He let another trail of smoke rise up and out of his lungs, thinking about his assignment. There wasn’t much time left before the deadline and he still had a bunch of literature to read. He was too focused on his latest ideas for his final exhibition, which resulted in him neglecting his lecture “duties”. He couldn’t help but bury himself in his work, inspiration blindly guiding him, and he didn’t feel too bad neglecting that one specific lecture. A shiver crawled down his spine only thinking about it.

Cigarette dangling between his lips, Minseok fumbled with his backpack and took his headphones out. He searched for his phone, carefully hidden in his coat, and plugged them in. Soon enough, he found his favourite playlist and selected it, the songs playing randomly. The soft sound of Chet Baker’s trumpet resonating in his ears was enough to lull him even just the slightest. Looking at the grey sky and savouring his cigarette, the student watched the smoke around him while moving his feet to the rhythm of “There’s a Small Hotel”.

As the following song was starting, the bus finally arrived and its doors opened, but Minseok did not make an effort to get up, still engrossed in the music. The bus driver stuck his head out and whistled, “Oi, Minseok, I assume you wanna take this bus, since this is my last tour of the day and you don’t wanna make this walk in that damned cold? Or do you wanna drive with Nathair, eh?”

Minseok smiled lazily and got up. No way in history would he drive with Nathair again. He would rather forget the last time he did so; just the thought made him shudder. He wouldn’t ever drive with that snake another time. It had its advantages, working at the outskirts of the city; he knew at least half the bus drivers by name and this was also the first station for this line and not a lot of people used the bus at this time of day there.

After taking a last drag of his cigarette, Minseok disposed it on the ashtray and got on the bus of his favourite driver.

“Where you heading to?”  
“Library,” Minseok mumbled and chose the seat at the entrance door, that way he still could talk to Desmond.  
“Son, don’t overwork yourself, you don’t get any younger,” Desmond chided him. Minseok smiled at the endearment.  
“Well, it’s my last two semesters and I have that upcoming exhibition," Minseok leaned forward and propped himself on the handrails, pulling down his headphones. “You coming?”  
“Sure, my wife is excited to meet you,” a deep, sonorous laugh vibrated in Minseok’s ears.

Stopping at a red light, Desmond turned around to look at the student’s direction and noticed his worn out state. It wasn’t uncommon but he did sound more exhausted than usual, which alarmed him. His eye bags were more prominent and his skin was pale. It even looked like the skin was stretching more over his cheekbones. Concerned, he asked, “Minseok, you look tired, is everything okay?”  
“Hm, the preparation is taking up so much time, but I’m okay.”  
“Minseok, I know you for some time now and I know it isn’t okay. Do me a favour, you should go straight home after you get out, okay? Get some rest now, I‘ll wake you up when we reach your station.”  
“Thanks Des, you’re the best,” Minseok smiled at Desmond, his eyelids already dropping as he settled back into his seat, almost instantly dozing off.

Some time later, Xiumin arrived at the university and dragged his tired body to the library. He stood outside the doors and lit a cigarette. He pulled the scarf high, but low enough so he could still smoke, tipping his head back and wrapping  it around a few times. A loud yawn broke free as he held the cigarette stub between his fingers and covered his mouth. Desmond was right; he should have gone home and gotten some sleep. He was depriving his body of it too often lately and the aftereffects were only getting worse. But he hated doing things last minute and that’s why he was at the library. Putting the cigarette out in an ashtray close by and mentally encouraging himself to do the assignment, he entered.

He greeted the librarian and chose a desk near the windows. Some students were buzzing around the library and the occasional mutter could be heard. It smelled like books and fresh copies, and from somewhere around, a whiff of tea soothed Minseok’s nostrils. He pulled out his laptop and his sketchbook from his backpack, his headphones sliding out of it onto the ground. Bending down, he picked them up.

Standing behind his chair, he stared outside the window and his thoughts drifted away to his upcoming exhibition which made him space out for some time, his vision getting unfocused. The young man heard an abrupt stop of footsteps behind him but did not fully register them. Shaking his head and snapping out of it, he turned around, went to the shelves and browsed them. He pulled out a few books and flipped through them, opening a random page in one of them:

_“[...] The impression verged on embarrassment, even repulsiveness, and the evocation of such contradictory emotions was intended by mannerism.”_

He cracked a smile. He liked this book, it had a light tone while giving a sheer amount of information to the reader, but it wasn’t the book he needed, unfortunately. With the other books that would help him complete his assignment in hand, he went back to his desk.

Sitting down, he let out a long yawn and stretched his limbs, letting his laptop boot. “Alright, let’s get through with it, three days should be enough to work on the assignment," he mumbled to himself while plugging his headphones in and scrolling through his playlist. He debated whether he should listen to Jazz or classic. In the end, he settled on a beat tape. Lowering the volume, he put the earbuds in and let the smooth beats play in the background. He stifled a yawn once again, but his yawning just gave him teary eyes and a runny nose. “For fuck’s sake,” he said, rubbing his eyes and yawning once again. It was going to be a long afternoon. Distracted, he looked around the university’s library once again.. Somehow he managed to zone out again, his body moving unconsciously to the sound of the music, but he quickly caught himself, regained his focus and made up his mind to finally concentrate on his task.

“Alright, which page was it? Ma… Ma… Mar..., Mar..., Marcoussis, Marées, Marin? Ah, dammit, the R is after the G. Ah, there he is, Magritte,” Minseok flipped through the register until he found the name he was looking for.

Searching the internet would have been easier but Minseok liked the atmosphere in the library, the calmness as well as the quietness around this hour and he liked to put in the extra effort into his assignments for the “Introduction to the Art of the Early 1900s in Belgium". The professor was an elderly lady in her fifties and the seminar only had around thirty participants. The following night would be a stressful and sleepless one again. As he tried to stretch the drowsiness away once more, an exhausted sigh escaped his lips.

He started writing down the information he needed and typing them into a document on his laptop. Half an hour later, he decided to take a little break, propping his head on his hand and staring outside the window once again. The music was lulling him into a false sense of security and his eyes started getting heavier and heavier until they closed shut and eventually his head slid down onto his arm. His breathing pattern evened out even more. From his slightly opened lips escaped a soft sigh, sleep taking over his senses.

“Tsk, slacking off again," a scoff was heard and a person leaned closely over Minseok’s sleeping figure. The loose strands of Minseok’s long hair were hiding his face partially, the hair tie already loose, his hair just messy and his natural, slightly curly hair coming through. But one could see his fluttering eyelashes as well as a deep crease forming on his forehead. In an instant, his whole body changed into a state of uncomfortableness and he shrank in himself away from the person, as if his body was unconsciously feeling the curious eyes intently staring at him.

_Later._

“Hey, you, we’re closing the librar- oh, Minseok, it’s you.”

Minseok jolted awake and was greeted by the librarian’s face. “Rough day, I guess? You should get some proper sleep, Minseok.”  
The student rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and checked the clock; it was almost midnight. He hated working the long shift on a Friday but he had gotten off work earlier by an hour today. Working on Fridays after such a stressful week had always been horror. At least he had the late shift tomorrow and he could sleep in. The thought of it was enough to give him a little bit of courage. Getting his stuff together, he bowed to the librarian and was on his way to his apartment. Lighting a cigarette, he dragged his feet over the gravel path near the university. To his luck, he lived nearby.

As soon as he arrived home, Minseok quickly got in his bed, not even bothering to change into his sleepwear after discarding his clothes. His stomach was rumbling but he was too lazy to get up again. There wasn’t much food in his fridge  anyway, something to which he was getting used. He would buy something for lunch once he had gotten enough sleep.

However, no matter how exhausted he was, sleep was far from his sight. With a grumbling stomach and the exhibition creeping in the back of his mind, he couldn’t seem to calm down. After adjusting his sleeping position multiple times, he checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time and to his dismay, it was only 01:52. “Fucking hell,” he mumbled to himself. He cursed a few times, completely clueless and at a loss about the fact that he kept falling asleep anywhere else aside from his home but couldn’t rest at all in his own bed.

He kept tossing around in it but he just couldn’t sleep regardless of all his desperation. He checked the time for the umptheenth time; it wasn’t even four in the morning and sleep still wasn’t coming to him. So he just lay there and stared at the dark ceiling. “What to do? What to do?” he asked into the darkness but he knew he wouldn’t get an answer. He would have freaked out if he had.

He decided that a tea might do the trick, so he got up and maneuvered himself around his one-room-apartment and found the electric kettle. Staring into the blurring, blue light of it, his thoughts drifted off again into an abyss of nothingness. “Maybe I should just get a giant canvas and paint it grey and black and call it ‘The Maelstrom of the Failure of my Life’. Sounds good to me.”

With the tea bag sitting in the mug, he roamed around the room and stopped at the window. While staring outside, his throat suddenly started constricting and a strong whirl of emotions hit him. It devoured him and he wept bitterly, the mug almost falling out of his hands. He sank down and lay on the cold floor, just weeping and crying himself to sleep.

The next morning he woke up on the cold, bare floor, freezing. Getting up was a hassle and numerous joints voiced their condition in a rather painful way. Trying to ignore his mental state, he went on with his daily routine. His first priority was getting something to eat and continuing the assignment before going to work. In that way,  the weekend passed fast, Minseok’s anxiety lingering around him, and he didn’t know how much he drank so he could sleep and use the daytime to finish the assignment and work at the evening shifts.

Seeing the kids at school on Monday refreshed him as well as pushed away his dark thoughts and pulled him out of his misery. It was like the kids were sensing something and did their best to make their favorite art teacher happy. That day alone, he received 6 additional drawings of fairies, horses, autumn sceneries and so on as presents from the kids for his wall. One of them even shared her lunch with him and gave him the best-shaped cookie. They were a ray of sunshine in his gloomy day. He didn’t mind not being paid for helping the children; those small precious moments were gratifying enough.

After school, he took another route to work since Desmond had texted him earlier that Nathair would be driving. In the daytime, he would usually take that bus, even with him as the driver, but he wasn’t in the mood. He had around two hours to spare before work, so he decided to take a walk through the park. The sky was dark and the weather forecast talked about the first snow of the season. Minseok disliked the cold but snow had something magical and he loved watching the snowflakes fall.   

He pulled his beanie down closer to his eyes and attempted to light a cigarette. But luck wasn’t on his side and his lighter was refusing to do the work. Angrily, Minseok gritted his teeth and kicked a pebble.

“Need fire?” a voice asked.  
Minseok was startled but he profusely thanked the stranger. Looking him up and down, he muttered a “handsome”.  
“Sorry, I didn’t catch that.” And that was the moment he realised he said it out loud. His face began to burn out of embarrassment and he quickly apologised. The stranger just laughed and thanked him before he was on his way again, his own cigarette between his fingers.

“Ah, for fuck's sake, what is wrong with me?!” Minseok whined to no one in particular and went his own way, kicking a few pebbles on his path.

Work was unbelievably lazy that day and Minseok spent most of the time sorting and refilling shelves rather than actually serving customers. He wasn’t as tired as usual and he was thankful for that. But due to a chat with one of his co-workers that took longer than it should have, he missed the next bus and had to wait around twenty minutes longer.

Sitting at the bus stop, he sat cross-legged on the wooden bench to get more warmth out of it, huddling himself deeper into his coat, scarf and beanie. He stared at the other side of the street, zoning out. He didn’t even want  to listen to music, since it meant getting his hands out of his coat pockets. He glanced at the notification board; twenty-two more minutes until the bus arrived. He was going to have a stroke.

He tipped his head back and closed his eyes. That was until he heard some voices he recognised, making him jolt up. With wide eyes, he leaned forward to glance around the advertising panel. Springing back, he stared ahead, shocked. Minseok started thinking about the chances he had  to get out of this situation, one he wanted to avoid at any cost. Walking to another station could have been an option, but that meant passing the couple. Just sitting there doing nothing wasn’t helpful either. So he did the next best thing he could think of at that moment; he pulled his beanie down just above the eyes and pulled over the hood of the hoodie he was wearing under his coat. He also pulled his scarf just above the nose and bowed his head a little, hoping that this would do the trick.

“Please, why? Am I not punished enough on the weekend?” he muttered into his scarf and turned silent.

“Haha, you’re SO funny-” he heard the girl laughing with her hand clasped over her mouth. The answer of the man wasn’t audible but apparently it was enough to get the girl giggling like a maniac and saying something like ‘not here, we’re in public’. Minseok instantly regretted being too lazy earlier to get his headphones out. It would have been very helpful in order to deal with the unwanted situation he was currently stuck into.

A bus drove up and Minseok slightly tilted his head towards it to check, however, it wasn’t his but the girl’s one.

“Bye, sexy~.” Minseok almost gagged. He had to cough into his scarf before getting himself back together. He heard footsteps and saw shoes stopping before him and turning towards his direction. Minseok didn’t move a muscle, only wishing to turn invisible at that moment. It felt like an eternity until the feet set back into motion and started away. Minseok released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

His bus finally arrived and he bounced up as fast as he could, relieved about finally escaping his uncomfortable surroundings. Grabbing his backpack, he rushed into the bus, mentally thanking the driver that saved him from his debacle.

“Minseok! You look like you just saw a ghost!” Desmond exclaimed.  
“I think I did, maybe even a near death experience!” Minseok breathed out, holding himself up against the ticket machine in the bus before sitting down.

The bus slowly set into motion but Minseok couldn’t shake off the feeling he was under the eyes of a hawk observing its prey.

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ʰᵉⁿᵗᶻ ᵘᵖ ⁻ ¹⁹⁹³](https://youtu.be/o47RYEhsJJc)  
[ᶜʰᵉᵗ ᵇᵃᵏᵉʳ ⁻ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ'ˢ ᵃ ˢᵐᵃˡˡ ʰᵒᵗᵉˡ](https://youtu.be/Waw_MDmDnK0)


	2. L'homme à la pipe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｌ＇ｈｏｍ ｍｅ à ｌａ ｐｉｐｅ »  
> eng.: ‹ man with a pipe ›  
> Ｇｕｓｔａｖｅ ｃｏｕｒｂｅｔ

_Tuesday._

Minseok gobbled down his lunch at the uni cafeteria before powerwalking over to his seminar room in the attached building. Checking his watch, he realised he was already a couple of minutes late but he didn’t mind it that much since no one took the word “punctuality” seriously here. Knocking on the door, he entered. Before he could say anything, the student was being greeted with an almost empty room -which wasn’t that unusual- but also his lecturer almost shouting: “Thank god, you’re here at least! Please tell me you did the assignment!”  
The student majoring in Fine Arts was too baffled to say a thing and just held up his folder and his coffee in the other hand.  
“Thank god! That’s why you’re my favourite student! Half of the others didn’t send them in or said they’re ill and will give it to me later,” complained the lady.  
Minseok bashfully played with a strand that had freed itself from the bun. “Ah, Miss, that’s too much of an exaggeration-”  
“No, it isn’t,” she replied, a fond smile on her wrinkled face. “Now hand me the assignment. I don’t even know what to do today since most of the people won’t come in except for the usual suspects. We’ll wait a bit more and see if other people have the courage to show their faces in front of me.”

Minseok handed her his assignment and let her flip through it while he was playing with his phone. “Ah, Minseok, I meant to ask last week already, was it you at the nearby primary school last Monday?”

He looked up, somewhat caught by surprise. “Eh, yes? I work there on a voluntary basis since they don’t have enough art teachers.”  
She smiled at him, “That’s very honourable, young man.”  
He chuckled and mumbled a ‘thank you’.

Suddenly the door was opened with force, “Sorry, I got caught up in something.” Minseok almost dropped his phone and in an attempt to catch it, he fumbled to prevent his coffee from spilling everywhere as well. It was the girl from the previous evening. He let out a sound of shock and grabbed his hot drink. Nothing was more precious to him than his coffee.

“So, ‘caught up in something’, huh?” the teacher emphasised her last words. “Got your assignment with you or it just got caught up in something as well?”

The girl let out a disapproving noise and handed in her papers. “Ah, since I’m already half an hour late and still no one is here...”, Minseok looked up offended, “Can I go? Since no one is coming anyway?”

“Then go.” The girl left the room and the teacher rolled her eyes, letting out a frustrated sigh. “I know Belgian art isn’t that interesting, but please! Ah, Minseok, you can go as well, do you have anything after this seminar?”

“Only my nude course at 4.”  
“That’s three more hours.”  
“I’m pretty sure I can spend the time in the ateliers.”  
“Go ahead then,” she dismissed him while collecting her things. She was almost out of the door when she turned around, “Could you maybe write a note on the whiteboard that the seminar today is cancelled? See you next week.”

Minseok walked over to the whiteboard and noted down the information. Capping the marker, he turned around towards the window and stared into the grey skies until he saw a little movement in them. The first snow was finally falling. Surprisingly, the forecast was right for once with its prediction and the boy smiled to himself.

He left the room and skipped down the stairs. At that moment, he was debating whether he should try working on his piece or if he should take a nap since his sleep wasn’t fulfilling again. Stepping outside, he shook his cigarette pack to determine its inconspicuous leftovers. Pulling a stick out, he put it between his slightly opened lips. He was about to light it when he overheard a conversation.

“-replacement for the nude today?”  
“Yes, and apparently it’s rumoured to be one of the teachers here?”

The girls approached Minseok’s area. “A replacement for our nude?” he asked.  
“Ah, Min, didn’t recognise you for a second there,” one of the girls happily smiled at Minseok. She was with him in the life drawing course and those two bonded over the weirdest things and always sat together.  
“Hey dear, I hope I didn't startle you guys,” he smiled at her.

“Dear? Adelpha, is that your boyfriend?” the other girl asked suspiciously, squinting at Minseok.  
Adelpha let out a loud laugh while leaning and hugging Minseok in greeting, “I wish he was. ‘Dear’ is the meaning of my name.”  
“Aha?” the other girl didn't sound any less convinced, but Minseok ignored her.

“So, replacement?” he looked up to Adelpha who snuck his cigarette away to take a drag before putting it back between his lips. “Eh, indirect kiss?” he winked.

She chose to ignore his remark, “Yes, apparently José fell ill short-term and we need a replacement model. She heard that one of the professors will be doing the job.”

“I'm not sure if I wanna see one of them naked, to be honest," Minseok scrunched his eyebrows, cracking a smile.

“I'm not so sure either, but we gotta go. See you later? And can you reserve a chair for me? If it's true I don't wanna sit in the first row. See you,” she patted Minseok’s head while passing him.

“A replacement, huh?” Minseok trailed, the smoke drifting into the sky. “Gotta take a nap before the nude course.”

After spending his spare hours doing exactly as he planned, Minseok arrived earlier than the other students in the course room and chose a seat at the front next to the window -the furthest away from the podium the better- but still with a good enough view at it so that he could still draw at least … something. He was sending Adelpha a bunch of outdated memes since he knew she would enjoy them.

_From: Del_  
_Minnie, I heard some strange rumours_  
_about the replacement today 👀👀👀_

_To: Del_  
_What kind of rumours?_

_From: Del_  
_It’s really a prof who will strip. A male one!_  
_💪_  
_I’m scared 😱😱😱_

_To: Del_  
_We don’t have good looking profs, except…_  
_no, we don’t 🙅❌_

“I heard it will be THE hot prof,” Minseok overheard the two girls talking in front of him.  
“Oh yeah?! So we get to see him naked? Oh god, that’s sooooo hot.”  
Registering the info, Minseok’s eyes went wide, hoping that his ears were playing tricks on him. He tried to convince himself that it couldn’t be possible but there he sat, and his fellow students talked about his arch nemesis. He wasn’t ready to see the bastard before the next lecture.

_To: Del_  
_AFGDJASGDJAKDLDFLGSFGLSDGHL-_  
_ASJGHKFVHFSDF!!!!!!!!!_

More students poured into the room, excitedly chatting among themselves.

_From: Del_  
_Min? You’re having a stroke?_

_To: Del_  
_Rumour has it, it’s that fucking jerk!_  
_MISS ADELPHA DALLAS, COME HERE_  
_THIS FUCKING SECOND, I’M HAVING A_  
_CRISIS OVER HERE!_

_From: Del_  
_Fuck, I’m still sitting in my seminar, we_  
_can’t leave early_

_To: Del_  
_I’m getting out of here, i’m skipping, fuck_  
_me, today is not my day_

_From: Del_  
_👍_

Minseok gathered his things and rushed to the door at the very back of the room. It was out of question that he would stay there. No way in hell. When he was almost out of the room, he bumped into an obstacle. A hand was balancing him out by curling around his upper arm. Staring at a half-opened dress shirt with a sculpted chest on display, he gulped heavily. He cursed lowly, an inaudible 'fuck' escaping his lips. He was doomed.  
He didn’t dare to look up when the man began speaking, “Fancy seeing you here, Mr Kim. Where are we heading to? Don’t you have a nude course to attend to?”  
He didn’t like the way his body was reacting to the deep, smooth voice and he could literally hear a smirk in it. His ears and neck were burning red with embarrassment. He needed to get away but the man was blocking his way.  
“Uhm, s-sir,” stuttering and still not looking up, he made a gesture to show that he needed to get through but the man, the professor, Kim Jongin, also known as Kim Kai, wouldn’t budge in the slightest.

He felt like it was only the two of them in the room, he just couldn’t register their surroundings at that moment. The man’s appearance was radiating with dominance and arrogance. It blanked out the last remains of self-esteem Minseok had in him  and got him into a “freeze” mode. He felt like a mouse trapped by a huge and powerful cat that was ready to give his fatal blow at any moment.

Suddenly, he was yanked out of the grip, not too forcefully, but enough to rescue him, away from that dangerous aura. Adelpha’s face was staring at him and he couldn’t have been happier. “Minseok, ‘babe’, here you are!” She put heavy emphasis on ‘babe’ and shot daggers with her eyes at the artist. “I was looking for you, let’s get to our seats.”

She dragged him along, her long fingers curling around his wrist as she threw him a worried glance. While they were reaching their seats, Minseok let out the breath he was holding, finally freed from the teacher’s grasp. Sitting next to each other, she scooted closer to him, whispering, “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay to you?” he grimaced.  
“No, you don’t, sorry. I can’t believe it’s the douche. He looked like he’d devour you any second now.” Minseok, with tears in his eyes, glared at her. “Ah, sorry, my poor baby,” she cooed and patted his messy bun.  
“I hate you,” he swatted her hand away, snickering. When he looked up, wiping his teary eyes with his hands, he was instantly attacked by Kai who was staring at him with dark eyes. He had the sudden urge to escape the man’s stare. Feeling like a prey, his body was once again in a full-fledged “fight, flight or freeze” mode, tending to a big, fat, massive ‘flight’.

To Minseok’s relief, the course teacher came into the class. However, it didn’t stop the nude model of the day to keep his eyes fixed on  the student, making him nervously move on his seat, his friend not missing his distress. Delighted, the course teacher said: “Oh, Kai, you’re already here~” the pitch in her tone made the student gag.  
“I think I lost my ability to hurl,” Adelpha commented dryly under a shudder.

Both of them ended up deep into a conversation about how to effectively kill off a human in a way that no one would suspect manslaughter while staring at the two teachers at the front.

“So, since this is the advanced course, the kids should be able to draw clothes as well.”  
“Oh, so I should keep my clothes on? I thought I was here to get naked,” Kai winked at a couple of girls in the front row that turned into a giggling mess.  
“Then, we’ll save that for later~”

Next to Adelpha, a graphite pencil snapped in half. Minseok almost smacked his face into his drawing board, “I would gladly go to jail for manslaughter,” he mumbled to himself but she heard it nonetheless and rubbed his back in a comforting matter.

An hour into the course and Minseok was unable to bring anything decent on the papers due to nervousness from Kai’s constant, intense gaze.

“Kai, you may start removing the shirt now. Please do it slowly in order for the students to be able to draw it,” the teacher advised and apparently she was enjoying the show way too much herself. Some students whistled, earning a smug grin from Kai in return. Minseok’s body was violently against him looking up but he did it anyway. A big mistake, as he had to find out. The moment he looked up, he locked eyes with Kai, a seductive half-smirk danced on his lips while biting his lower lip, eyes slightly lidded. Minseok almost dropped his already broken pencil and stopped mid-motion. The model started removing his clothes slowly until his chest was entirely revealed, his heavenly-shaped torso making Minseok’s heart rate escalate at the speed of light. Kai, still staring at him intently, wet his lips seductively with his tongue, the movement natural and sensual, with his chest moving slowly up and down, following his steady breathing pattern.

The young man’s throat suddenly got extremely dry. He felt uncomfortable under the hard stare and his legs felt like jello, ready to give out any second, weren’t he already sat. He looked at his professor’s body, analyzing his perfect features to draw it as realistically as possible on paper, but with his shaking hands and a body temperature continuously rising, he couldn’t draw a single thing. Kai’s eyes never left his own, occasionally winking, but never lifting his gaze in the next five minutes. The two men held eye contact that whole time, trapped in a kind of trance and an unexplainable swirl of opposite emotions clashing. Minseok’s whole body hunched and he started wringing his sweaty hands, breathing heavily and hiding behind the drawing board. He managed to tear his gaze away towards Adelpha and let out an almost silent whisper, but she heard him and turned abruptly towards him. Taking his appearance in, her eyes went wide. Her hand shot up the moment Kai was about to start removing his suit pants.

“Miss Dallas?” the teacher answered.  
“Miss, is it okay to leave the course early today, in case we’re not comfortable with seeing our professor naked?”

Kai, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow and searched for Minseok’s response, but he was still hiding behind his easel as he collected his things with shaky hands.

The teacher sighed, “Alright. Everyone,” she clapped her hands together, “If anyone is uncomfortable, they might leave now.”  
A rustling was heard in different parts of the room. They weren’t the only ones. Minseok held his things tightly in his chest and kept his gaze on the floor, while Adelpha was silently nudging him safely towards the direction of the door. He wouldn’t dare to look at Kai again even if the temptation was too strong. He was getting dizzy and he couldn’t afford to pass out now.

The whole time it took them to get out of there, Minseok could feel Kai’s burning gaze at the back of his head.

Once safely outside the door, he almost slumped down. His voice cracking, he looked up at his friend, “What the fuck was that?”  
“I wonder that as well,” Adelpha looked down on him, holding out her hand for Minseok to get up. “I have the feeling we both need something to drink now.”  
“But I have to work tomorrow,” he objected.  
“You can stay at my place, you still have clothes from the last sleepover at my apartment,” she declined, dragging him by his hand. “Let’s get our stuff out of our hands, I have a secret stash hidden away in your atelier room.”  
“You have what?!”

Two hours later, the both of them were sitting on the couch in his atelier and staring at his works displayed on the easel.  
“Draw boobs, they always look good,” Adelpha giggled, induced by wine.  
“That would look absolutely terrible,” Minseok side-glanced at her, the bottle of wine set on his lower lip and ready to drink, his eyes crinkling from smiling, “I refuse to become a second Michelangelo.”

Both of them were just sitting on the couch, talking about this and that, while listening to Minseok’s go-to playlist, currently set to some 70’s Jazz when “M5” from Takanaka came on. Minseok jumped from his seat and grabbed Adelpha up with him, “May I have the honour of the dance, m’lady?”  
Adelpha just laughed and offered her hand to him, “I'm honoured to, but I can't dance for shit!”  
“Me neither," Minseok swayed them around and both were cracking up, giving the passersby of the art department the time of their life.

“Every time your lips are kissin' mine, I can feel what you've got on your mind, In my arms, your tender light burns, We been talkin', but we don't say a word~” Minseok sang along Masayoshi Takanaka’s ‘E.S.P.’, using his half-finished bottle of wine as a microphone and dancing around his room as if he was filming his own musical comedy movie. Adelpha sat on the couch, cracking up and clapping her hands, tears in her eyes, “Man, that song, so good!”

Minseok turned the volume down and flopped down on the couch, “Hey, Del? What was that today?”  
“You mean our hot teacher who’s an absolutely disgusting piece of shit? He looked like he would take you on the spot. I thought he hated you.”  
Minseok dropped his head on her shoulder, “I thought so too, but it was flirting, wasn’t it? But I’ve never seen him flirt so aggressively with other students. I just hate that behaviour but apparently, unnaturally hot people have a shit character. He behaves like he’s better than all of us, that snob.”  
“But you like his sculptures, heck, you admire them.”  
“That was before I got to know the character behind them.”  
“Did you do anything to tick off that behaviour?”  
“Not that I’m awar-” Minseok suddenly stopped mid-sentence, recalling what could hold the key to Kai’s behaviour.

“Minnie?”  
“-no, that can’t be it, can it?” Minseok asked the bottle in his hands. Looking back up, he looked at his friend, deep in thought. His voice dropped to a lower octave, “Promise me you won’t talk about it.”  
Adelpha nodded her head.  
“So, last Friday, after work, I missed my bus and while I was waiting, I heard a couple, but one of them was one of our fellow students and the other...” he abruptly stopped, feeling watched, looking out into the dark of the night, he couldn’t see a thing. Adelpha caught up on his sudden discomfort, “Mister Kim?”  
He nodded his head, still observing the outside of the hallway, even getting up.  
“Did he see you?”  
“Not that I’m aware of. I hope my coughing didn’t give me away. Or do you think he might have recognised my coat?” he turned around, the look of dreadful shock painted across his features. “Do you think he did?”  
“I don’t think so, at least I hope he didn’t.”

Minseok got up and opened the door towards the enclosed courtyard, lighting a cigarette, his face being illuminated by the small flame. Staring into the sky, he began to speak, “Is it normal that I felt that affected by his stare? Like... the churning in my stomach?” the last words trailed off hesitantly, as if he did not want them to be confirmed.  
“Maybe attraction?”  
“Sexually?” he scoffed at her.  
“Nah! Emotionally? Like, subconsciously, because you saw him?”  
“I have absolutely no idea,” he sighed and took a long drag from his cigarette, “Wanna go home?”  
He looked over his shoulder towards Adelpha. “Sure.”

Minseok heard a nearby door close. It actually sounded like the door next to him. He whipped his head around, looking at the direction the noise came from. The doors always fell shut with some kind of loud noise, but not that muffled. Not giving it much thought but still disturbed by the familiar feeling of being watched, he let out a trail of smoke while observing the clouds it created that were even more visible because of the chilly weather.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᴹᵃˢᵃʸᵒˢʰᶦ ᵀᵃᵏᵃⁿᵃᵏᵃ ⁻ ᴹ⁵](https://youtu.be/9cuxrkZeai8)  
[ᴹᵃˢᵃʸᵒˢʰᶦ ᵀᵃᵏᵃⁿᵃᵏᵃ ⁻ ᴱ·ˢ·ᴾ·](https://youtu.be/9cuxrkZeai8)

[ᴵⁿⁿᵉʳ ᵂᵃᵛᵉ ⁻ ᴬᵐᵉʳᶦᶜᵃⁿ ˢᵖᶦʳᶦᵗˢ](https://youtu.be/ZzX63LqGpOE)


	3. Admist the Haze in the Upper Troposphere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> «Ａｍｉｄｓｔ　ｔｈｅ　Ｈａｚｅ　ｉｎ  
> ｔｈｅ　ｕｐｐｅｒ　Ｔｒｏｐｏｓｐｈｅｒｅ»  
> Ｓａｎｔｉａｇｏ　Ｂｏｒｊａ

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤThursday._

Minseok, looking at his unfinished piece in his atelier room, let out a frustrated sigh and messed his hair up for the umpteenth time. He had taken a shower at Adelpha’s place the day before, but pulling his hair out of frustration all the time had resulted in it getting slightly greasy and a few loose strands already getting free from the tie and falling on his shoulders. He had been working on his piece for the whole night yet he couldn't fix the mistake he had made earlier while dozing off. Something was missing but every single attempt to correct it somehow turned out badly and now he was seriously, and officially, stuck. He had been staring at it for a while but his mind was completely blank, no sign of inspiration striking him anytime soon. He only wished he wouldn’t have to start off from scratch. He pulled his hair again and groaned, frustration taking over, as he fell face-first on his couch that was slightly stained by the wine drinking session he had with Adelpha two days ago. “Fuck off, I’ll fix the piece later.”

Determined to quit it for the time being, Minseok looked at the clock while yawning and stretching. There were nine minutes left for his first lecture of the day. Where he would have the pleasure to spend the next two hours with no other than the almighty professor, Kim Kai, learning about Baroque art history, first thing in the morning. Needless to say that he was not looking forward to it, especially after that traumatizing nude class earlier in the week.

“Fuck me, why does it feel like the whole world is against me?” Minseok asked no one in particular. He forced his body to get up from the couch and tidied up his art supplies, getting ready to leave the ateliers since it took fives minutes to reach the classroom. With his coffee mug in hand, he made his way towards the room the lecture was held in.

In need of some sort of instant support system and quick venting, he took his phone out and texted his best friend, before entering the hall:

 _To: Del_  
_Someone, please save me from my_  
_misery! 😢😢😢_

 _From: Del_  
_Let me guess; going to your lec-_  
_ture with the hot professor who_  
_turns out to also be a dick?_

 _To: Del_  
_Got it 👉_  
_Help me! Find a reason to skip? I am_  
_having an existential crisis over here_  
_Fuck, i can’t even smoke before_  
_going, i am running late_  
_SEND HELP! 😭_

“Disgusting,” a loud whisper was heard. Minseok instantly froze, recognizing the velvety sound of the owner’s voice. The student detached his gaze from his cell phone and was met with his arch-enemy who didn’t hold back on looking him up and down, with a disgusted expression plastered on his face. But much to Minseok’s relief, he didn’t say another word. He entered the class, walking with confidence and smiling at the girls squealing in the front row.

Minseok, somewhat self-conscious, looked at his attire; he was wearing his pyjama pants as well as his favourite worn out hoodie, which smelled a bit of cold smoke and coffee, and probably wine. His hair was also dirty, since he had no chance to go back home after his last seminar the day before and went straight to the ateliers, just to suffer one breakdown after another. He ended up staying the night working on his latest piece for his exhibition and didn’t bother for a fresh change of clothes. So now his professor was judging his looks? “What a piece of shit,” he mumbled to himself.

As he was entering the lecture hall, he spotted the only empty seat left which was at the back at the far left. Kai’s classes were always full, no need to explain the reason why. He quickly scampered to his seat and let a yawn break free, not bothering to cover his mouth. As soon as he finished wiping his teary eyes, his gaze met with his teacher’s hard and resentful one. Minseok felt a shiver running down his spine, this time not because of his godly looks, which were highlighted today by his signature open dress shirt that exposed his collar-bones and sculptured chest, but rather because of the intensity and the rawness of his distaste. He felt small, almost guilty for no reason. He glared back with as much courage he could muster before averting his eyes to open his notebook, still feeling Kai’s intense stare on him.

That day Kai was very different from two days ago and it puzzled him. While he was openly flirting with him during the nude class, now he was shooting him distasteful glares multiple times, which only made him shrink in his seat. It didn’t help him focus on the lecture at all.

Throughout the whole lecture, Minseok would doze off and shake his head in an attempt to wake up. He did his best to take down some notes but it was hard when his mug was empty and the sleepless all-nighter was urging him to rest. He could feel his eyes closing by themselves and his head being heavy, its weight dragging it down. A lot of torturous minutes after, Kai was finally concluding the lecture, and the two painful hours were coming to their close.

“This lesson will be assigned as a protocol, so I am giving you this week to complete the task. You can all give me your papers next week and I’ll return them with your corrections afterwards. Any questions?” The class went silent, everyone happy about the outcome of their assigned work, including Minseok. Protocols were easy and not that long to do. He would be fine. It would also give him the chance to work more on his exhibition. With a smug grin, Kai added, “Perfect, see you next week.” He winked and brushed a hand through his long hair, his mullet standing out. Minseok felt weak for that brief second, unconsciously biting the tip of his thumb, until his professor’s eyes met his again, as hard as they could be. He wasn’t sure if he preferred a flirty or a stern Kai. Either way, he had to get away as soon as possible. No matter what Kai’s mood was, it was always disturbing. The student shook his head and gathered his belongings, almost sprinting to escape the lecture hall. As he was passing by his professor, the older man stopped him in his tracks. “Smoking and drinking, huh? I hope I won’t have to face you in that state again tomorrow.”

The desire to smack his professor across his smug face was itching in his fingertips. “As if you care,” he hissed under his breath and passed the older man. He just wanted to get the protocol over and done with. He had more pressing matters at hand and he could always change this course if he needed to. He wished his inner fanboy hadn’t gotten him in such a position. Defeated, he dropped his face in his hands and sighed loudly. He dragged himself towards the restroom where he took a good look at his reflection in the mirror, “I don't look that bad, what's his problem?”

Still, contradicting his faltering self-confidence, he splashed his face with a bit of water and redid his hair in an attempt to freshen up. Getting the urgent matter out of the way, which was to buy coffee, he then went to one of the lunch tables with the intention of starting his assignment right away. He had two hours to spare until his seminar and after it, he would just go home to sleep the remainder of the day off. Fortunately, he had no work the next day.

Getting his notes out, he booted his laptop and looked over the words he had scribbled half asleep. He plugged his earphones into the aux port of his device and started playing some music. The lecture was about Étienne Maurice Falconet so the protocol wouldn’t be a problem since he only needed to summarise the lecture into two to three sites. Typing away, he had already finished it less than half an hour later. He saved it, propped his head on his hand and stared outside at the snowflakes dancing towards the ground. Unconsciously, the soft motion of them lulled him into sleep.

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤLater._

The slight tugging feeling was sudden, and Minseok stirred in his peaceful slumber. He groaned and moved his arms a little bit, trying to get more comfortable and protesting against the movement around him by flailing his hands in all directions. He also had the faint sense that his name was being called somewhere far away, but he let the voice die down. Then, his earphones were harshly removed from his ears and a familiar, yet all too aggressive and invasive at that moment, voice attacked him, “Kim fucking Minseok, you better answer when I am calling you!” Adelpha’s loud voice awoke the man instantly, making him jump and almost fall off his seat. While still being confused about his surroundings and trying to open his eyes that were refusing to obey, his best friend continued her rambling, “Do you know how worried I was? I sent you at least a million text messages for the past three hours yet you never replied!” Minseok yawned and looked at Adelpha through almost shut eyes. She looked furious.

Still not completely awake, he glanced at his cell phone and noticed that he had five missed calls as well as thirty-one new text messages. “A million messages? You are exaggerating,” said the student with another yawn, his voice lower and hoarser than usual. “I am not. I was worried sick! I was looking for you everywhere! Turns out you were sleeping here the whole time.” He looked at his watch which indicated the current time: 2:16 pm. If he had a hard time opening his eyes earlier, it wasn’t much of a problem now. “Fuck! I missed the second lecture!” exclaimed Minseok, fully awoken and stressed. “You did. You are lucky to have a caring friend who happens to be in the same class as you and who is willing to share her notes with her dumb best friend," she said while holding out the notes and displaying a fake smile on her face.

“Del, you are my saviour!” Minseok quickly got up from his seat and hugged her, the action so strong it almost made the two fall. “You have to pay me back though. I even saved you from Kai’s grasp the other day, I deserve at least free lunches for the whole month and an apartment clean up.” Minseok scoffed, “Please don’t mention this douche in my presence. Way to make my day even worse than it already is.”

Adelpha sat next to him while handing him her notes, “What did he do this time?” Just thinking about his lecture made Minseok tremble from anger. “He looked at me as if I was some piece of trash or something. You should have seen him bullying me with his stare during the whole class.” Adelpha patted his back in comfort, sighing.

“Do you want to talk about it?”  
“No,” Minseok pouted, clearly no mental strength left in him for the rest of the day. He yawned once again and his eyes filled with tired tears. “I just want to go home and sleep until I die.”  
“Did you pull an all-nighter again?”  
“I’m sorry, but the project is fucking me up and you know that. I should have slept on the couch for a few hours.”  
“Min? I’m finished for the day, but I have work later, so why don’t we skip lunch, you come over to my place. I’ll whip something up for a late lunch and you can sleep at my place while I’m gone. I’m afraid you will fall asleep on the bus if you take it.”  
Minseok scrolled through his messages, “Desmond is driving today, so he would wake me up? I don’t want to impose myself on you.”  
Adelpha looked at him with worry in her eyes and sighed, “Well, he’ll be giving you a good earful anyway, so I guess there’s no harm in that.”

They said their goodbyes and Adelpha gave him a long hug, telling him that if he needs anything he shouldn’t hesitate to hit her up. Minseok gathered his belongings and made his way down to the ateliers, to get the rest of his things. Once there, he noticed a little post-it note on his desk. Neatly written, there was an encouraging note and some well-meant advice for his current objective and even a little heart drawn next to it with a smiley face. The unknown author said they didn’t know who was working here, but that the unfinished product had already left a lasting impression and that he shouldn’t try too hard, because sometimes a piece doesn’t need to have finishing touches. Minseok read the note over a few times. He couldn’t recognize the handwriting but he was already smiling anyway as he carefully tucked the note away in his sketchbook.

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤTwo am the following night._

Minseok swore he could imagine his stomach trying to digest itself when he woke up in the middle of the night hearing it violently rumble. Once he had arrived home, he couldn’t even care about undressing. He just dropped on the bed and the lights were immediately out.

He hadn’t really eaten anything the day before and the last thing he had were the crackers and the apple he got from Adelpha once they parted after uni. Even Desmond had shared his dinner package with him, but that wasn’t a lot as well. So he just lay there, at two in the morning, wide awake with his stomach demanding his attention, staring at the ceiling. “Guess I’ll have to get something to eat.” He rubbed his eyes with the back of his palms and blindly felt around until he found the switch for his night lamp. Rolling on his side, he craned his head until he could look out of his window. The sky looked orange grey from all the blaring lights of the city. He sighed before basically rolling out of his bed. Cereal, it was. With his soft, munching sounds as the only background noise, he sat down cross-legged next to his bed and looked outside into the night sky, pondering if he should get back to sleep or do something productive.

He hummed to himself until he had made up his mind. Jumping under the shower at four in the morning, he dressed warmly and left the house with some breakfast, coffee and his sketchbook. He walked the whole way to the art school, pulled out a couple of papers and just started. Minseok got immersed in his work and didn’t even realize it when  the time for his first lecture of the day came. But he was way too happy and satisfied that he couldn’t be bothered by his mortal enemy that day. He went to get coffee before the lecture at ten. Skipping his step, he ran into his professor and apologised gingerly while still smiling widely, “Sorry, Mr Kim didn’t see you there.”

Off he was again, leaving an extremely confused Kai in place.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᶠˡᵒᶠᶦˡᶻ ⁻ ᶜᵉⁿᵃʳᶦᵒ ⁽ᶠᵘˡˡ ᴮᵉᵃᵗᵀᵃᵖᵉ⁾ ](https://youtu.be/LcR1UlkZlUE)  
[ᴳᵃˡˡᵃⁿᵗ ⁻ ᵗᵃˡᵏᶦⁿᵍ ᵗᵒ ᵐʸˢᵉˡᶠ](https://youtu.be/7whEJUOLyLw)


	4. Milon de Crotone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｍｉｌｏｎ ｄｅ Ｃｒｏｔｏｎｅ »  
> Éｔｉｅｎｎｅ Ｍａｕｒｉｃｅ Ｆａｌｃｏｎｅｔ

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤTwo weeks later, Thursday._

Minseok had two pretty busy weeks but he was content, kind of. The stress wasn’t anything too serious or so he thought; maybe he was just pushing the obvious out of the way because he had a pretty bad day today and of course it was related to the exhibition. One of the artists included in the exhibition was throwing a tantrum and it was affecting everyone.

Minseok was now sitting in his classroom, trying to focus on Kai’s lecture about “the influences of Baroque in Mannerism”. He was paying attention but kept getting distracted by his exhibition that was only a few weeks away. Kai’s morning lecture was about to be concluded when he was handing out the assignments from two weeks ago. Minseok couldn’t care less. He didn’t even check the revised protocol and just put it in his bag, “ It’s just a protocol, how could someone get anything below a B+?” Adelpha had flicked his forehead for that statement a few days ago.

His behaviour didn’t slip past Kai’s watchful eyes, since some students around him already looked crestfallen after checking their assignment. Minseok wondered how someone could even fail a protocol. Maybe the other students were just too lazy or failed voluntarily so they could ask for some private tutoring from the professor. It wouldn’t be surprising.

Minseok was on his way to leave the lecture hall, forced to pass by Kai, and started rolling a cigarette. It was when he wetted the adhesive with the tip of his tongue, that he made eye contact with his professor. Big mistake, as Kai arched one eyebrow suggestively and a smug half-grin instantly appeared on his lips. Minseok almost spit the half-finished cigarette out. He was dying to throw his lighter at Kai’s face. His whole face turned sour. With furrowed eyebrows, he glared at the older man while the tips of his ears turned red. The urge to flip him off suddenly became very much real. “How can one man be so hot and disgusting at the same time," Minseok asked himself. He would ask Del later if she had any theory on it.

The bastard was standing right before the door, preoccupied with some female students that were seemingly complaining, but Minseok didn’t register it since he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the professor who was enjoying himself. Kai readjusted his shirt collar, the muscles under his rolled up sleeves flexing, and like magic, a button was freed and his chest was revealed a bit more. Minseok gulped and the blush was now creeping over his neck. His gaze met the ground as he sped up his step, trying to get away.

Once he reached Kai, he nearly jolted out of the door. “See you tomorrow, Minseok.” The student almost stopped in his tracks, stunned; he had never called him by his first name, never. And not in such a sensual way as well. He hated the effect it had on him, his body naturally reacting in pleasure with his heart beating faster and his cheeks getting redder. He quickly got himself together and reached the door.

Once he was outside, he furiously tapped away on his phone.

_To: Del_  
_DEL! PROVIDE ME WITH AN ALIBI THIS_  
_SECOND! I’M GOING TO KILL THAT_  
_BASTARD_  
_SFGDJAGDKAHFDKYALDFJSDFAUJKSF-_  
_GÖ!!!11111!1!!!!_  
_💢💢💢_  
_😡😤😠_

_From: Del_  
_woah, what happened, what did he do_  
_this time?_

_To: Del_  
_calling me by my first name, staring at me,_  
_flirting?!_

_From: Del_  
_i wouldnt mind him flirting with me (or_  
_you for that matter), but he called you_  
_by your name? like, he called you_  
_Minseok?!_

_To: Del_  
_DEL!_  
_Yes, he said “see you tomorrow,_  
_*dramatic pause* Minseok”_

_From: Del_  
_👉🌚👈_

_To: Del_  
_🖕🖕_

_From: Del_  
_😙_

Minseok was about to reply, when he saw Adelpha typing.

_From: Del_  
_👉🍆🍑💦👈🌚🌚🌚🌚🌚_  
_youre about to get laid_

He almost threw his phone away and broke his cigarette that he had only lit a few seconds earlier in half. That’s it, he thought. It was the last thing he would tolerate from her. Stomping on his cigarette, he turned around and marched towards the one place he would find his best friend now. This meant war.

It didn’t take much time until he spotted her in the hallway, “Adelpha! Fucking! Dallas!”

She jumped when she heard her name. Turning around, she saw her best friend. Wiggling her eyebrows, she said: “Minnie, don’t act against your natural instinct. I know you want it.” With these words, she took off, laughing her ass off, with an angry Minseok hot on her heels. He passed the man who was the reason for this whole ordeal, but took no notice of him, too focused on giving his troublemaker of a friend  the payback she deserved.

After catching up to her and spilling a few lovely curse words, the two friends walked together towards their next class. During the whole lecture, Adelpha was not letting go of the juicy information her friend had shared with her and didn’t miss a single opportunity to tease him by sending inappropriate and suggestive text messages. At this point, Minseok wondered how he managed to focus on the class.

After the lecture about “Culture, Language and Communication” they had together, they parted ways. Suddenly, Minseok remembered his protocol. He was so focused on escaping Kai’s unbearable behaviour that he flew away without even looking at his result. Curious, he opened it and checked his mark. He was surprised to see a message at the end of it.

_“For someone not paying attention, I’m impressed you’re even able to keep up with my lecture - full mark.”_

Minseok read over the comment a couple of times, fully digesting the information written in neat handwriting. He stared at it for a while, anger progressively surfacing. The more he read the words, the more it intensified. That bastard had the nerve to write such an arrogant note on top of telling him that he was slacking off. There was no way he would let such irresponsible and disgusting behaviour slide.

Minseok inhaled deeply and held his breath for a few seconds, trying to calm down. Beating the shit out of the snob artist wouldn’t do any good even if he was dying to do so. With more composure, he turned on his heel and stopped before the administration's office. Knocking softly, he waited for an answer.  
“Come in.” He opened the door, the forced smile on his face starting to hurt. “Oh, Mr Kim, how may I help you?”  
“Good afternoon Miss, I was wondering where the guest professor’s office is?”  
“Which guest professor?”  
“Mr Kim,” every fiber of his being was against him saying that name.  
“Third floor, in the south building, room 0317,” she said after looking through a couple of papers.  
“Thank you, miss.” He slightly bowed and left the room.

With quick strides and his smile faltering, he left the north wing and almost ripped the main door to the south wing open. He skipped the elevator and took two steps at once. He was fuming.

On the third floor, he tried regulating his breathing once again by inhaling, holding the breath for a few seconds, exhaling, for two minutes straight. He checked the name tags and room numbers until he had found the correct one. Just knowing that his professor was there was enough to make his blood boil.  
He knocked harshly on the door, no restraint present anymore. Screw his self-composure; he was going to show that fucker what he was made of. That fucking remark was the last straw today.  
“A second,” came from inside. Minseok couldn’t care less and knocked again, “Hurry up.”

Suddenly the door was yanked open and out came a disheveled looking female student, flushed face and out of breath. She froze under Minseok’s hard stare. “Detestable,” he spit out. She winced and scurried away.

Minseok shut the door harshly behind him and smiled at his professor, but the smile was nowhere near reaching his eyes. He walked towards the desk and smacked his assignment forcefully on it. With crossed arms, he stared at Kai who was buttoning up his dress shirt and fixing his hair. He smiled at him, “How may I help?”  
“You’d help yourself if you would drop dead.”  
“That’s no way of talking to your professor,” he walked up to the student, looking him dead in the eye but the former was way too angry to be intimidated in the slightest.  
“Someone who’s taking advantage of his students for his own pleasure deserves no respect, you fucker,” Minseok practically stabbed his finger in Kai’s chest. “And writing shit in my assignment like that,” he pointed towards the crumpled papers, “is just downright degrading.”  
“Well, I’m just surprised a slack-off like you has such deep knowledge about Falconet,” Kai said in a sarcastic tone. He did not budge from his domineering demeanor and stood face-to-face with Minseok; if he would bend down a bit their noses would touch. Now, that was enough.

“Slack-off?! Bugger off, you piece of shit!” growled Minseok lowly as he stepped closer, “You have no fucking idea. I’ll do you a favor and deregister from your courses. I’m ashamed I worshipped the ‘formidable Kim Jongin’ as an artist and went to all your exhibitions I could manage.” He air-quoted the ‘formidable’ bit and for a second, his facial features distorted into melancholy before the loathing took over once more. “Fucking hell, and I was blind enough not to see you were an asshole. Seems like your great looks were not enough to compensate for your shitty character.” He laughed dryly, fighting the tears that were starting to show up.

What had seemed like an inexplicable outburst to Kai at first, now was bringing him at a loss of words. Kai’s initial, puzzled reaction, was starting to  turn to shock as he was trying to piece the information that the student was spitting at him. He didn’t know Minseok felt that way about him. He just had fun picking on him and was intrigued by his polar reactions. He knew that Minseok was an exemplary student but he was registering a decreasing interest from his side during the different lectures to the point he was ignored and the student stopped participating completely.

Minseok harshly bumped his shoulder against him, turned around and grabbed his assignment from the desk. He was about to leave when a hand caught his arm. Kai was hesitant enough in this action, seeing that Minseok was so enraged, and he tried holding him back but with just enough force, wanting the student to calm down. Minseok though was unmoved as he turned his face a bit, glaring at his professor from his peripheral vision. “Let go, or I’ll scream bloody murder,” he hissed before yanking his arm out of the older man’s grasp and closing the door behind him, leaving a stunned and frustrated Kai behind.

His steps turned into a sprint and he almost stumbled down a couple of times, the tears blurring his vision, and him furiously rubbing them away. Somehow he managed to reach his atelier room and shut the door close behind him.

He stood in the room breathing heavily, the tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, his legs gave out and he crashed onto the ground. He saved his face from colliding with the floor by breaking the fall with his hands, but only to cause sharp pain to run through both his wrists. He cursed, sobbing loudly, and slumped down wholly. Lying on the ground, he hiccuped and struggled breathing. He held his hands over his mouth, trying to control his breathing.

He was having  a total breakdown, everything crashing on him; the money, his struggles, the exhibition, his family situation, everything. Uncontrollably crying, he curled into himself on the cold ground. After what seemed like an eternity, he managed to regulate his breathing pattern. Still sobbing, he rolled on his back, staring at the ceiling, bringing his tear-soaked hand through his hair. He tried standing up a few times until he was stable enough. Once he fully stood, he had to prop himself up against the wall and the desk so that he wouldn’t fall down again.

Standing eye to eye with his canvases, he felt like they were mocking him. Something snapped in him, his emotions turned into pure outrage and he grabbed the nearest knife he could get his hands on and slit open his finished canvases, cutting, tearing them apart impulsively. He was seriously  considering burning them down along with the whole building. He kicked his easel and smashed almost everything off the table. Empty glasses broke, pens and brushes crashed against the floor, and he slumped down once again, the broken materials surrounding him. With his face buried in his hands, another wave of dread rushed over him and he started crying again, cursing and whispering insults to himself and his dick of a professor.

He roamed around his atelier room, kicking things that lay in his way. “I feel so betrayed for liking him as an artist. How can an artist with such sensual sculptures be such a bitch, such a fucking prick. That fucking roué.” As soon as his tongue started loosening up, Minseok was on a roll, cursing in every language possible.

After a while, he collapsed on his couch, “Fucking gobshite," he mumbled to himself. When he had received the notice at the start of the semester to pick the teacher for his courses, he couldn’t believe he would have the chance to meet one of the artists he admired the most; Kim Kai. He had always found his work so fascinating and oddly mesmerizing. His sculptures were the epitome of sensuality in its greatest form; his pieces were so elegant, each detail leaving him in awe every time he saw the sculptures before his own eyes. He couldn’t think straight seeing them, to the point he lost his group that one time in a museum. The amount of precision put in every single body part, in movement or not, the facial expressions of the models that were so expressive but never too much; simply perfect. His works were flawless. He just wished to run his fingers over every curve, just to feel the material under his fingertips.

He attended each of his exhibitions when he could, he read his books about the history of his favourite art periods, he was always updated to his latest works. Kim Kai was a man he looked up to in more than one way. But he had to learn the hard way that the man behind the name was anything but what he imagined him to be. Who could have known that he would turn out being such a satyr, using young people for his own pleasure. Certainly though, it very well explained the way his sculptures occurred, swelling or drowning in ecstasy. In fact, now that he put some thought into it,  his work represented his character perfectly: obsessed with desire and affection in any form, emotional and sexual.

His rage turned into sadness, infused with some kind of treachery, in realisation that he was blinded by a kind of obsession or delusion for someone he imagined to be a certain way. Just a few weeks into the semester his admiration had turned into despise, since Kai was kind of open with his attitude of exploiting students for sexual pleasure and most people altogether ignored it, too blinded by his status as a renowned artist. He stood up and went to the cabinet he knew Del had her secret stash. This would be a night drowned in self-pity.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᵀʰᵉ ˢᵐᶦᵗʰˢ ⁻ ᴮᵃʳᵇᵃʳᶦˢᵐ ᴮᵉᵍᶦⁿˢ ᴬᵗ ᴴᵒᵐᵉ](https://youtu.be/oEOpUqpETcU)  
[ˢᵃᶦⁿᵗ ᴴᶦˡᵃᶦʳᵉ ⁻ ʰᵉʳᵉ ˡᶦᵉˢ ᵐʸ ᶠᵘᶜᵏˢ ᵍᶦᵛᵉⁿ](https://youtu.be/4F3JACrVo1Y)


	5. Ship in the Polar Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｓｈｉｐ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　Ｐｏｌａｒ　Ｓｅａ »  
> ot, ger.: ‹ Schiff im Eismeer ›  
> Ｃａｓｐａｒ　Ｄａｖｉｄ　Ｆｒｉｅｄｒｉｃｈ

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤThe following day, Friday._

Minseok wasn’t sure about how he had gotten there, but he was currently lying on a bench in a park. He had no idea where it was, not even if he had walked for long before reaching it. He was completely clueless but he couldn’t care less at that moment. He let his system be completely submerged into the effect of alcohol, the only thing that could take him to another world, one where his worries were diminished, where the cold was suddenly inexistent and where he couldn’t feel a single thing. How he got to the park was not important: he was feeling great. That’s all that mattered. Taking a swig of the bottle, the clear liquid burned down his throat, and tears started welling in his eyes. That shit was seriously strong and he had to cough. The alcohol ran down his throat, scratching his insides but it was soon followed by a burning sensation that warmed him up. Maybe it was the harshest form of consolation he had at that point, but he welcomed it as his only companion. He lay back down on the bench, the bottle slipping from his hand onto the snow.

Still lying on the bench, he sang the lyrics to Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Real Wild Child”; “Come on baby shake all night long, shake until the meat come off the bone, 'cause I'm a wild one, ohhh yeah! I'm a fucking wild one!” the student, completely intoxicated, laughed like a madman and continued singing, adding his own words to it, “I'm gonna keep shakin' all night long, I'm gonna keep a movin' baby, hell yeah my man, don't you cramp my style ‘cause I'm a fucking real wild child!” Totally immersed, he contorted his body, feigning to play the piano solo, giving it his all as if he was having his own solo stage. He gained a few stares from the passersby but with his eyes closed in concentration, he wasn’t aware of the ruckus he was making.

“Gonna pick up you up with my...my….my what?” Minseok opened his eyes and stared at the sky, instantly blinded by the sun that was shining brightly. He blinked his eyes and struggled to sit on the bench, finding funny the way the world was spinning around him. He picked up the bottle from the ground and asked: “D’you know the lyrics? Huh? How am I gonna pick him up?” He stared at the bottle, his eyes unfocused, waiting for an answer but the bottle wasn’t cooperating. He placed it on his lips only to notice that its contents were empty. He settled down on the bench again, lying on his back and getting used to the light coming from the sun.

He didn’t have enough time to get used to it though and suddenly a shadow cast over. He tried opening his eyes a little bit and could discern a face facing him from the back of the bench, but he couldn’t make its shape out since his eyes couldn’t focus. He hiccuped a bit, and closed his eyelids over and over again in an attempt to make his sight clearer. The more he did it, the more blurry his vision was getting. “Tsk, slacking off again,” exclaimed a voice that somehow sounded familiar. Minseok scrunched his nose and sat on the bench, gripping everything around him -which included mainly air and some parts of the bench- to help him to his task. When he finally managed to do so, the other person turned around the bench and stood in front of him.

“I told you last time, I didn’t want to see you looking disgusting again. Seems like you didn’t take my advice into consideration, Mr. Kim. And you even skipped my class to get drunk here instead in the middle of the day. That’s smart.” Minseok laughed and looked at the fazed figure of the man in front of him. He scoffed, “You’re sounding like my dick of a professor, mister.” He laughed bitterly again, “Don’t wanna think ‘bout that scum now.” He turned his face away, his voice getting quieter.

Kai, completely stunned, took a good look of the student, scanning him from head to toe. He looked even more awful than a few weeks ago when he showed up at his lecture in a poor state. He was wearing the exact same worn out clothes from the day before when he had his outrage at his office, his hair now was as messy as it was then, and he reeked of alcohol and cigarettes ten times more than usual. His coat had definitely seen better days as well. He was almost pitiful, drunk to the point of not recognising him and not being able to stand still even while sitting. His eyes were completely lost, unfocused and barely open. He was mumbling to himself and laughing for absolutely no reason. Kai was not impressed, he was pissed. He wasn’t sure why. He had no reason to be.

Minseok fumbled in his pockets, trying to find his pack of cigarettes. When he did, he handed it to Kai and offered him one. Kai, disgusted, refused. The student then opened the pack and noticed it was empty. “Fucking shit, even my cigarettes are abandoning me.” He laughed, but the laugh was more bitter than amused, and he threw the pack away before burying his face in his hands while resting his head on the bench.

Although delayed, the realization dawned on him faster than lightning striking down a tree. In an instant, he linked the male voice to his owner, realising that the man standing in front of him was the subject of his latest misery, the one and only, Kim Kai. He quickly straightened up and glared at him. Kai smirked, “So, now you finally recognise me?” Minseok growled, getting too eager to jump on the subject of his hatred but instead he fell on the ground, his legs not following his mind’s determination. “You motherfucker, come here so that I can beat you up! You won’t even be able to recognise your reflection once I am done with you!” But Kai wasn’t taking it. From where he was standing, Minseok only looked pitiful, sprawled on the ground and mumbling.

“Why are you so mad at me? I haven’t done anything to you. Not only that but I gave you a full mark. You should be happy I didn’t take your laziness into consideration while grading you.” Minseok gripped the neck of the bottle, using it as leverage to pull himself up as the bottle voiced its impending consequences under the sudden pressure from the force of Minseok’s weight and the gravel under the snow. Apparently he had already managed to chip the bottle from continuously knocking it to the bench and the gravel path. The neck broke off and cut Minseok’s palm, but he didn’t vocalize anything, too intoxicated to realise it and due to his glove having cushioned most of the impact. He held the broken off bottle neck towards the professor. His eyes were radiating with pure rage. Kai was taken aback and froze.

“For fuck’s sake! You don’t even know me and you keep telling me I am a slack off while I am working my ass off to pay my fucking rent and my uni fees! I fucking stay up almost every night to finish the pieces for my exhibition that’s stressing the fuck out of me and you come at me with your bullshit! You bastard, you have no idea. Probably born into a family that supported your decisions to study art, to become an artist, eh? Do you have a fucking idea how it feels to be disinherited because you want to do something you love? To start from scratch with no support whatsoever? Do you?” At this point, Minseok’s tears were flowing endlessly, his shell finally, completely shattering in front of the older man. His voice cracked and his words got choked in his throat, as his screaming died down to something above a mere whisper. Talking under his breath and continuing his monologue, his sobs kept getting louder by the second, to the point that the words started merging into jumbled cries, the student opening up more and more. “I’m so tired, so tired of everything and everyone,” he whispered lowly, his voice breaking. His whole body slumped down and he pulled his legs up close to his chest, as the blood was soaking and seeping through his glove.

Meanwhile, Kai was staring at his student, his eyes as wide as they could be. It was the last thing he expected from Minseok and it completely froze him in place. The two spent the next minutes in silence, only the sobs of the young man audible.  
“Say, mister, did I really cut my dominant hand right now?” Minseok’s voice sounded too sober at that brief moment of the utterance until he soon slipped into his breakdown once more.

He was now shivering, his body clearly not covered enough to take in the cold weather. Kai looked at him, this time from a new, different perspective. He recalled their previous interactions, from the time he was sleeping on his desk in the library to the time he spotted him leaving the ateliers at around three in the morning, to every time he kept yawning in his classes. He could clearly trace his tired features every time they crossed paths in the hallways, the way he was fighting against his drooping eyelids while waiting for the bus near the university and even all the times he had showed up at his lectures with his dear cup of coffee and some stains of fresh paint on his clothes and sometimes his hair. Kai was almost certain that the young man lost weight since the beginning of the semester.

Everything made sense now; all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. Minseok was not a slack-off, it was the opposite; he was the most hardworking student he knew. And he felt bad for sticking to his own personal deductions that apparently had proven completely wrong. His thoughts lingered at the remembrance of all the blunt remarks he had the pleasure shooting at him. His conscience, heavy, came to eat at him. He had really messed up. He could see it now, where all this hatred for him was coming from. No wonder why the student had lost his shit when he confronted him in his office.

Kai looked at Minseok, whose body was now shaking and his stray tears coming slowly to a halt. He started taking some careful steps slowly towards him, not wanting to startle him or trigger a negative reaction. When he was only a few inches away from him, he crouched down on his knees and looked at him, trying to make eye contact. The student was still crying, hiding his face with his palms, the blood of his injured hand tainting his worn out coat. Kai slowly took his safe hand in his and detached it from his face, but Minseok was not cooperating. He pushed the older man’s hand away and put his back where it previously was. “Fuck off, leave me alone.” It was a quiet whisper, his voice tiny and barely audible, but Kai still caught it.

The professor wasn’t giving up though; he took the same hand again in his own and grabbed it a little bit harder to steady his hold. Minseok tried to escape from his grasp but didn’t succeed. Kai murmured, “Minseok, please look at me.” With his other hand, he lightly tilted Minseok’s face slightly upwards to look at him. Minseok tried craning his head away, but Kai held his jaw in place. “Don’t wanna.” He even had the audacity to pout. Kai kept holding his safe hand and moved it completely off the young man’s face, giving more access. “Minseok, please, let me look at you.”

Unintentionally, Minseok got distracted by Kai’s efforts to get his attention which revealed his face to him, eyes glossy and filled with unshed tears. Kai brushed the skin under his eyes with his thumb to remove the traces of fresh tears, his touch gentle and light, and looked him straight into the eyes, “I am sorry. I didn’t know that you were going through such things. I am so sorry.” These words made Minseok avert his eyes, shy and still angry at him. “You don’t believe me?” The student stayed silent, confused about this side of the man he only knew as being a bastard with no manners and a shitty character. “No, why would I?” he remarked sarcastically, still avoiding eye contact, but his voice slightly betrayed him, sounding uncertain.

Seeing that there was no other way out of this but to cooperate and face Kai, Minseok looked at him, eyes tired, still a little bit unfocused but calmer. “Here, I’ll help you, okay? You can’t stay out in the cold like this, you will catch a cold,” Kai continued to caress his face with his thumb and gently removed the bloody hand, his face fully revealed. Minseok leaned into his soft touch, getting weaker and less defensive thanks to his professor’s unusual calm and comforting voice. He surrendered, murmuring inaudible words and gripping Kai’s coat with his safe hand, the other one staying on his side. His eyelids were starting to get heavy.

Kai put his arm around Minseok’s shoulders and helped him up, his body way too light for the drunken state he was in. He then settled one arm around his upper back, the other taking his injured hand and observing the bloody gloves. He would have to clean the wound. He struggled to take Minseok to his car. When they reached it, he carefully sat him in the passenger’s seat next to him and buckled his seat belt. Soon enough, he took the driver’s seat and started his car, blasting the heater. He was lucky to have only one morning class on Fridays, that way he could take his student home and let him rest there.

Ten minutes away from his home, he heard Minseok mumbling something about the ateliers. He couldn’t catch a single word other than “have to go back to uni” and “ateliers”. Kai asked, “You want to go to uni? No way, I am taking you home.” Minseok then spoke more clearly, “my phone, gotta go to uni and get it.” Cursing under his breath because of the detour he had to make, he turned around at an empty street and drove towards the university.

Kai parked the car out of sight so that no one would see Minseok sleeping in his car, “Which room is it?”  
“North, -0107,” Minseok muttered, rubbing his tired and dry eyes. The skin around it was burning red.  
“Minus? Cellar? I thought that wing had no cellar.”  
“Lower ground level, three steps down, end of the corridor,” Minseok choked out. He sounded frustrated but horrified all at once. “Please-” he was back to whispering and trembling, his speech had become all the more impeded after God knows how long in the cold.  
Kai sighed and glanced at his coat that he had draped around Minseok. He would miss it. His hand was already on the door handle when Minseok croaked out a “wait”, holding his wrist with his uninjured hand. “Key,” he said before rummaging in his pocket and taking out an old keychain, with a distressed looking little turtle key ring on it that had definitely seen better days. Stepping out into the freezing cold with the key in hand, the professor jogged towards the building, his breath coming out in big, huffed clouds.

“Mr Kim, what are you doing here?” a voice welcomed him. He shuddered, it sounded like the obnoxious brat he had met a few weeks ago. “Sorry, darling, no time, I forgot something,” he smiled apologetically at her and raised his hands, before taking a turn. “That’s exactly what I needed right now,” he cursed under his breath. Flirting with the girls was nice but some of them turned out way too clingy, to his dismay. It only took him a short while to arrive at the atelier wing. He knew he had been here before. The area looked familiar. Walking up to the end of the corridor, he found out that next to the stairs there was surprisingly an atelier room and the key fit.

Nothing had prepared him for what he was about to witness. Never once in his life had he seen such  deliberate destruction. It had to be so, since the room was locked. It was absolutely awful. Kai closed the door behind him softly and cautiously maneuvered around the ruins that seemed to once have been working material and canvases, observing the mess. Once he reached the desk, he shuffled a few papers but there was still no sight of the phone. “Is he sure he didn’t lose it in the park?” Kai muttered to himself. Next to the desk and all along the perimeters of the wall glass shards were littered all across the floor. “It’s a surprise he didn’t wound himself earlier.” He was seriously getting worried now and doubted himself. After two more minutes, he spotted the cell phone on the couch, an old model. He turned it on to check the battery and noticed that the notification bar was full with missed calls and messages, all from just one ID: “Del”.

Having had his mission accomplished, he went out of the room and turned the key in the lock. “What the hell was that?” He scratched his chin and stared at the now closed door. “It seems worse than I thought,” he mumbled to himself. With the cell phone in hand, he made his way back, running once again into the girl near the entrance this time. He smiled sweetly but everything in him was screaming in disgust.

He made his way back to his car. He couldn’t see anything inside since the windows had fogged up by the heat in it. He unlocked the door, which he had locked in the first place since there was no way he would take the chance of allowing the possibility of Minseok having ideas and taking off by himself in his drunken stupor. Opening the driver’s door, he peered at the passenger seat. Minseok was sleeping deeply, his hair fallen into his eyes and the blood from his hand having dried off on his face from all the rubbing. Finally sat in the driver’s seat, Kai took in his appearance once again. His skin complexion was too pale to give off anything but a healthy condition, his lips slightly purple and chapped from his long exposure to biting cold and his breathing was coming out in uneven intervals. Nevertheless, his expression seemed to be more on the peaceful side. Reaching out towards him, he twirled a loose lock of hair around his finger before tucking it behind Minseok’s ear. He cupped his cheek and stroked with his thumb the dry, brittle skin that stretched over his cheekbone, letting it run over his chapped and split lower lip. Minseok leaned into the touch. “Kim Minseok, what are you doing to yourself?” Kai whispered, not wanting to wake the young man up. Retreating his hand, he started the gear and drove directly to his own apartment.

Once in the parking lot of his apartment, he felt bad about waking him up, but he had to. Kai went around the car and softly shook Minseok awake. He cracked his eyes open a little and smiled at Kai, as he muttered: “5 more minutes, Del.” Kai on the other hand, stared at him, aghast, “How drunk is he?” He stirred him awake once more, coaxing him to get out of the car, and threw one of the student’s arms over his shoulder to support him. Kicking the car door shut, he made his way over to the front door, his student in tow.

After some attempts, he managed to sit him down on his couch as Minseok kept falling to his side, wanting to drift off to sleep again. Kai got rid of his gloves to examine the wound. The cut wasn’t too deep. He wasn’t sure if he would need stitches but at this point he could only offer his basic, first-aid services. He cleaned the wound, cleansed it with antiseptic and put a bandage around it. A ringtone he could not recognize sounded off into the absolute silence of his apartment. It was coming from his back pocket. That’s when he remembered that he had Minseok’s phone. Checking the caller ID, he saw that “Del” was calling again. He answered the call, raising the phone to his ears, while fondling Minseok’s face who smiled a little bit and leaned further into the touch, sleeping soundly.  
“Kim! Fucking! Minseok! Finally! Where the fuck are you, you motherfucking bastard? I tried to call you when I heard rumors that you supposedly beat Professor Douche up? And you’re not at home or at the atelier either! Where the fucking hell are you? I’m worried sick, you douchebag! If you’re not in the seminar right now, I’m killing you!” Only seconds in Adelpha’s tantrum, Kai could not help but hold the phone at a considerable space away from his ear, her loud voice assaulting his ears that were not expecting such an outburst.  
“Miss Dallas I suppose? I can assure you, Mister Kim didn’t beat up ‘Professor Douche’ yesterday.”  
A confused silence followed from the other end. And then, at a much lower register, “Who the fuck are you? What did you do to my Minseok?” Adelpha’s voice hissed.  
“I’m professor Kim, Miss Dallas.” Adelpha, on the other end, inhaled sharply, “And I repeat, what did you do to him? Why do you have his phone?”  
“Because I found him shit-faced drunk in the park in the middle of the day,” he sighed. Kai heard something being kicked forcefully on the other end of the phone as well as a few curses. He paused and waited. It lasted for a few moments before Minseok’s friend stopped making a ruckus.  
“As much as I dislike you, Mr Kim, I have no choice but to count on you to take care of him. But get it through that thick head of yours that you’re one of the main reasons for his blow up,” Adelpha growled lowly into the phone. “If he isn’t home by tomorrow evening, I’m coming for you. I’m going to call him in sick at his work for today and tomorrow.” She sharply ended the call.

Kai stared dumbfounded at Minseok’s phone. He didn’t know the female student had such a temper, even if he saw similarities in Minseok’s and Miss Dallas’ behaviour, suspecting that the reason was their common dislike of him. Getting his attention back to Minseok, he realised he was still holding loose strands of hair in between his fingers. “Those clothes need to be washed.” He lifted Minseok off the couch and carried him towards his bedroom. Getting Minseok into a half sitting position, he started taking off his clothes. He stopped at Minseok’s shirt and debated whether he should take it off to wash it as well, deciding for it. He wished he hadn’t, the view was anything but pleasing. Kai could drag his fingertip over the student’s protruding ribs. It wasn’t dangerous but it was definitely unhealthy. He used his palm to feel over the ribcage once again. Minseok, sleeping, with his head propped up on Kai’s shoulder, shivered. He kneeled before him. “What are you doing to yourself?” he asked the mop of hair on his shoulder. He took one of his own shirts and brought it over the boy’s head, dressing him and then, he moved on to undressing the lower part. He tried to not pay too much attention to Minseok’s thighs that were thin as well, but still muscular. Once dressed in a fresh set of clothes, Minseok was carefully tucked in soft and warm blankets. Kai was about to leave when a hand suddenly snatched his wrist. Turning around, Minseok was looking at him through half-lidded eyes, “Stay.”  
Maybe that one word was the last thing Kai expected to come out from Minseok’s lips at that moment. Maybe it hit too much home and stirred something in him. But one thing was certain; that he did not think it through when he let impulse compel his body to bend down as he placed a warm kiss on Minseok’s eyebrow, only to be taken aback by his own action seconds later. “I’ll be back in a second,” he reassured Minseok, to which the half-asleep boy hummed in response.

Kai did not give much thought to his hurried movements or the reason behind them for that matter, as he put the clothes in the washing machine and shuffled back into his bedroom on soundless steps. Surprisingly, Minseok had been fighting against his eyelids closing fully, waiting for Kai to come back, and his facial features only softened once he did, a smile rising on his lips. Kai observed the sleepy man from where he was standing. His drunken revelations hit him quite hard, he couldn't deny it. And as he observed him, lying so comfortably on his bed, he wondered who Kim Minseok truly was, what kind of character and undecoded secrets lay under the surface, the apparently false image he had of him, that veered far from the truth.

Kai walked back up to the other side of the bed and Minseok was looking up to him, as his frail voice came out: “Please, stay with me.” Kai’s body obeyed for some reason and he lay down, close to Minseok while the latter fell asleep again, in the warmth emitted by the older. All the while, holding him in his arms, Minseok hid his face in Kai’s embrace. Kai did not know what to think of this. He could only blame his drunken stupor for his contradicting behaviour: he wanted to beat him up earlier and all of a sudden, he was asking him to stay with him, to not leave him alone. “What do you truly want, Minseok?” he wondered, watching the younger man rest soundly in his arms, curious and strangely concerned.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ʲᵉʳʳʸ ˡᵉᵉ ˡᵉʷᶦˢ ⁻ ʳᵉᵃˡ ʷᶦˡᵈ ᶜʰᶦˡᵈ ](https://youtu.be/DzTbLDdrACI)  
[ˡᵃ ᵈᶦˢᵖᵘᵗᵉ ⁻ ᶠᶦʳˢᵗ ʳᵉᵃᶜᵗᶦᵒⁿˢ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ᶠᵃˡˡᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰʳᵒᵘᵍʰ ᵗʰᵉ ᶦᶜᵉ ](https://youtu.be/ncCHGgff6Yo)  
[ʲᵒⁿᵍʰʸᵘⁿ ⁻ ʳᵉʷᶦⁿᵈ](https://youtu.be/qOKPvBZVi18)


	6. Homme nu renversé sur le sol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｈｏｍ ｍｅ ｎｕ ｒｅｎｖｅｒｓé ｓｕｒ ｌｅ ｓｏｌ»  
> eng.: ‹ man overthrown to the ground ›  
> Ｔｈéｏｄｏｒｅ Ｇéｒｉｃａｕｌｔ

Minseok stirred in his sleep, his breathing stable and deep. He wasn’t in dreamland but not fully awake either. He was comfortable; the fluffy and smooth material he was lying on too warm, the sheets he was buried in covering him almost fully. He heard a clicking sound followed by a loud snap but ignored it. His body tensed for a second and he scrunched up his nose before relaxing again, the comfort of his surroundings luring him deeper into his slumber. It had been a while since he had felt so great, so much at peace.

The student tried opening his eyes but he was still too numb to be able to do so. Instead, he stretched his whole body, raising his arms and extending his legs, while letting a loud yawn break free. He groaned, content. “Cute,” was the first thing he heard before even opening his eyes. He rubbed them and yawned again before taking in the sight in front of him; Kai was in front of his face,  crouched down on his knees by the bed, only a couple of inches apart, and looking at him with a strangely sweet smile. “Morning, sleeping beauty,” the older man said, his voice delicate and soft, making Minseok’s cheeks turn red.

He brought a hand close to Minseok’s face and brushed the sides of his mouth, trailing his lips and letting his fingertips linger there. “Didn’t know you drool when you sleep, sweety.” No matter how cringey the words sounded to Minseok’s ears, especially the pet name, the way Kai had said them, as if drooling was the cutest thing in the world, made his body weak, causing his blush only to flare up. The sensation of his firm hand on his skin made his heart rate skyrocket. Kai’s eyes were radiating pure kindness and playfulness. Waking up like this couldn’t possibly be real. Minseok felt like he was melting. Good thing he was lying or else he might have stumbled. “I’m still dreaming, aren’t I?” He tried to pull the covers over his face. Kai chuckled at his antics and held the blanket in place so his guest couldn’t hide.

Stopping his train of thought and registering the fact that the man he despised the most, at the moment was right in front of his face, Minseok’s eyes widened, taken aback. He stared for a couple of seconds at him before sitting up and retreating further back on the mattress to create some very much needed space. The panic didn’t have enough time to settle in when a heavy headache hit him, making him wince in pain and close his eyes tightly. He let out a small “fuck," voice still hoarse from sleep, before burying his head in his hands. Only then did he take in his surroundings, realizing that he was lying on a bed in a wide room he had never seen before. He slowly opened his eyes again, partly squinting from the throbbing in his head, and scanned the room he was in, slightly panicking. It was  somehow dark, the lights were out, but he could still make out the decorations since the sun was peering through the half-closed blinds.

Realising it really was a room he couldn’t recognise, he shot up, the headache hitting him at full force. He shrank away, clenching his head and cussed under his breath. He forced his eyes open again and looked around. “Fuck, is this some sort of a weird nightmare?” he said, trying to find something he couldn’t recognise with something he might be able to place.

The room’s walls were painted in a warm and light colour that reminded him of a stirred latte macchiato, which normally would instinctively appease him but not that day; it had the opposite effect. He suddenly missed his own, plain, white walls way too much. The room wasn’t too full, only a few furniture here and there. A few small paintings were hanging on the walls, but he couldn’t really focus on them with his head hurting so much and the light that was not enough for him to make the shapes out from afar. “Where the hell am I?” he asked himself. He blinked his eyes, digging in his memory, trying to find pieces to connect from last night but nothing was helping him trace this place.

Kai, on the other hand, seemed to not have a care in the world. He let his hand roam free on Minseok’s cheeks, effectively gaining his attention again. “I’m here as well, you know. Thanks for ignoring me.” His words came out soft, gentle, just like the smile adorning his lips that accompanied them. Winking mischievously at the dumbfounded boy, he ran his thumb over the young man’s lower lip before removing it and getting up. For a millisecond, a thought unwillingly tapped lightly against the walls of Minseok’s mind; how can someone even miss the warmth of a thumb? Kai exited the room only to come back a few moments later with a set of clothes. “You should take a shower, I already prepared everything you would need in the bathroom. It’s the door at the left.” Minseok shook his head and slowly sat on the bed. “Why am I here? Is… is that your home?” He rubbed his throbbing temples  and took his time to stand on his feet, wavering a little bit. Maybe he should have drunk less. He was starting to regret it now that he couldn’t remember a single thing.

“This is my home. You should be grateful I was kind enough to let you stay here in the state you were in when I found you,” Kai replied. He rushed to his aid and steadied him with a hand circling around his waist, the touch firm yet gentle. “Don’t touch me,” Minseok warned, sidestepping for a split second before winning his balance back, “I can stand on my own, thanks,” he added not to sound too harsh.

Kai only grinned. He guided him towards the bathroom, one hand still lingering on the lower of his back, and let him in, handing him the fresh set of clothes. When Minseok took in his appearance in the mirror in front of him, he was taken aback by how much he looked like shit but he also noticed that he was wearing pyjamas. He turned around and faced the older man, horrified, “Please don’t tell me you changed my clothes while I was asleep?!” Kai smiled playfully and wiggled his eyebrows. The blush crept on Minseok’s cheeks all over again and he closed the door, creating some distance between himself and the man who was making his heart swoon too much for his liking.

When he managed to calm his deafening heartbeat somewhat down, he undressed, hissing when one of his hands stung and noticing by his careless movement that it was injured. He stared at his hand for a while, studying it, but his mind was blank. He would have to ask Kai later on about it. Ignoring the pain from his fresh injury, he jumped in the shower, taking his time in doing a thorough job. The shampoo reminded him faintly of Kai’s scent, the thought making him blush a little but it didn’t manage to ease the tense knot that had formed in his stomach ever since he had woken up. Snapping out of it, he patted the water droplets on his face. He still couldn’t digest the fact that he was at his enemy’s home. He placed his forehead against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall, balling his fists and shutting his eyes in surrender. “Why am I here, why him? What shit did I get into this time?” Ignoring the twisted gut feeling in his stomach, he finished washing off. Once done, he rubbed his hair dry with a small towel and exited the bathroom, wearing clothes a little too big for him but somehow fitting; loose joggings and a long-sleeved, cotton shirt, enough to keep him warm. He was still drying loose strands of his hair as he let the towel drop to his shoulders. He had a massive, fat problem.

Minseok only wished one thing and it was that he hadn’t revealed too much to the man he despised. He was very well acquainted with his loose tongue when shit faced drunk and it was the reason he had almost gotten himself into some brawls already. And on top of it all, he had the bad luck to be under Kai’s care at that. He didn’t trust him one bit. Who knows... he might have done a few things to him while he was sleeping soundly. It wasn’t entirely impossible.

As soon as he got out of the bathroom, he was greeted by the warmth of the maisonette. While looking around, he spotted a clock that indicated “08:18”. Minseok’s eyes went wide and he started freaking out. He started drinking after ‘Communication, Language & Culture’, confronting Kai in his office and turning his atelier upside down, probably at three or four in the afternoon, maybe even before that, he couldn’t exactly remember, and now it was seven in the morning of the next day. Was it the next day? He had no idea which day it was, he doubted it was even still Friday. He had no idea how long he had slept, but that didn’t matter, because he had work on Friday and Saturday. “Fuck,” was all he could say as panic took over and kept increasing by the second, all the while ignoring his head that was giving him a hard time. He had to leave this instant.

Frantically looking around, he made a sharp turn and bumped into a hard chest, hands on his shoulders to ease the impact. Kai looked at him, confused, “What are you doing, Minseok?” Once again, his name rolling so naturally off Kai’s tongue, like it was nothing. It made him all tingly inside, but he ignored it, focusing on his agitation instead. “I need to go home right now! Shit, I even missed work, what am I going to do? Why didn’t you wake me up?” Kai smiled softly. “You don’t need to worry about it, I already took care of everything.”

Minseok was confused. “How?” In his peripheral vision he could register Kai’s hand leaving his shoulders and instead tangling his fingers around the towel to pull him closer. He stumbled into him. The older man continued, “Your friend, Adelpha, called when we arrived here. I told her that you were fine and she called your workplace to inform them that you were sick and wouldn’t make it. You have today off too,” Minseok’s shoulders relaxed a little bit at the sound of that. “You can rest now, it’s alright.”

Kai rubbed his shoulders to comfort him and put a hand on his forehead. Minseok tried getting away from his hold. “Stay still, I am only making sure you don’t have a fever.” Minseok still turned his face away from the man’s touch, holding his wrists down, “Don’t touch me, I have no fever.” Kai wasn’t having it one bit though and shut down all of Minseok’s complaints. He brought his hand back up on his forehead nonetheless, focused on his task. The warm and calloused hand on the student’s forehead stayed there for a few seconds before it slid down back to his hair, the fingers weaving through them, caressing his scalp.

The touch was caring, too caring for Minseok to fight against it. He unknowingly leaned into it, tilted his head back against it, even closed his eyes. The other man stepped closer and put his lips on his forehead, kissing it slowly, in what could only be described as chaste and sacred. Reaction time was a lot slower than what he’d like, and Minseok’s eyes suddenly shot open, looking mortified and mentally screaming in contradiction. He glared at the older man and covered his forehead. He stepped back, and muttered in as much of a threatening tone he could muster, but failing miserably: “T-t-that wasn’t part of the deal.” But at the same time he was already regretting it; the lips retreating left a sensation of unequivocal emptiness. Kai exclaimed, his voice almost a whisper, “You don’t seem to have a fever. That’s a relief.”

A shiver ran down Minseok’s spine. He could almost feel Kai’s deep and low voice resonating in his own body because of their closeness. He was at a loss, not knowing how to act or speak in such  proximity with a side of Kai that he had never met before. Being rude and running away were things he was used to, his familiar way of handling... this, but he blanked out when it came to such unexpected kindness and care. His mind was still flashing with “flight” mode but at the same time, this affection was turning the tables. He couldn’t resist it when he needed it. And it was needless to say that he had acknowledged a long time ago that he was attracted to him. And a whole lot at that. His mind was screaming for the nearest escape while his body was pleading him to stay. He was caught midway, the two sides pulling with the same force, effectively locking him in place. Minseok gulped and lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Kai, his own wide, uncertainty glazing over them, “What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?”

Kai’s hand was still brushing the student’s hair, his fingertips caressing each strand as if it was porcelain. “What is it I’m doing? I’m just taking care of someone who could have frozen to death in the middle of the day, drunk.” He lightly squeezed his shoulder, “You’re stupid, you know that?” Kai sounded accusing, but his eyes were soft. Minseok was frozen; there was no ‘time’ let alone ‘reaction’, all this was too much for him. His shoulders slumped down and he retreated in his own body, suddenly feeling exposed to the core. He had no idea what had happened or what he had said, besides him confronting Kai in the office and destroying his atelier room. Tears slowly welled up in his eyes and he brushed them away. He was afraid of breaking down, again.

Kai’s hand left his hair and came to the younger’s hip, the other one slightly lifting the shirt he was wearing. Minseok shivered, loving the sensation even though he disliked the way his body reacted to it. However, there was no way he would let him do it. He grabbed the man’s hands forcefully and yanked them away. “What the fuck are you doing?” Minseok hissed in discomfort, as he had just used his injured hand to prevent Kai from touching him.

Kai, on the other hand, grabbed Minseok’s significantly smaller hand in his, “I already saw your body when I changed your clothes.”   
“But that doesn’t mean you can undress me now!”  
The older man caressed the skinny ribs with his thumb and took the boy’s injured hand he had treated in his, only to place it on his lips. “Such beauty should be taken care of properly.” Kai kissed his knuckles, eyes staring deeply into Minseok’s, with an emotion that was too multifaceted to just easily decode. Minseok was confused and that was an understatement. He didn’t know what was going on. But at the same time he was fully entranced, captured in Kai’s eyes with no intention or ability to escape.

“Why am I behaving like this?” Kai asked and Minseok went weak for the soft voice that caused an instant churning to his insides. “Why does it feel like you’re driving me crazy?” he trailed off, Minseok’s skin still brushing against the plush softness of his lips. Minseok was pretty sure Kai was asking rhetorically, because what in the world of an answer would he expect Minseok to give? Why would he handle him with so much care? He could have everyone and anyone in the art department, quite literally, probably even in every other uni department as well. Minseok was pretty sure he must have cracked his head open and was currently in a delirium.

They stayed like this for a while, in front of the bathroom, none of the two moving an inch. Their gazes both drew them in, Kai trying to decipher Minseok’s expression and the latter examining, looking for any sign from the other that would betray the reason behind his loving demeanour. But it was futile;  only leaving them with more questions than answers.

After what seemed like an indefinable amount of time, Kai suddenly loosened his hold on the student. He smiled sadly, “Are you hungry? I prepared some food.” Minseok hesitated before nodding. A little bit of food wouldn’t hurt. He followed Kai’s lead towards the kitchen but stopped when something caught his eyes. On the wall hung paintings, ones that the student had never seen before. Those were absolutely beautiful. No, not beautiful; the word was too weak to describe them. The paintings were stunning, magnificent.

It was a series of smaller paintings, all of nude origin, but it was one of the smaller ones that lured Minseok in.

The colours of the painting were toned down, a stronger influence of yellows and blues in the backdrop, earthy colours for the body, a play of cold and warm browns for the shadows. Shown in the middle ground was a man, his upper body bent towards the viewer. Fore- and background empty of objects. He was naked, his chest sculpted, his body muscled. You couldn't see the man's face since it was facing away from the viewer, obstructed by hair, following the direction of his outstretched right leg; stretched towards the upper corner where the darkness was coming from, creating a huge shadow. The only point of contact with the ground was the model’s hands and the side of his thigh, being the only real and unique contact point, stabilising him in motion. The foot conjoined with that left leg, that was on the ground was also lifted making it visible. Minseok felt like he was watching a still of a dancer or a man overthrown. His left arm weirdly bent, like it might buckle, if the man fell further back on the side of his body. He wanted the man to move his leg further upwards so badly, for his body to bend towards the skies.

The details were fantastic. Even in the small frame, the painting looked like a shaky photograph but at the same time, like the painting it was supposed to be. He stepped closer, his eyes flicking from one point to another in the painting. He wanted to see the man's face so badly, to see those muscles in movement, the flexing of the man’s back when moving his arms around, the veins on the arms, the stretching of his thighs when he would finally bend his outstretched leg. Due to the way his body was angled, nothing was erotic or vulgar in any way; it was sensual, sophisticated and elegant. His curves were endearing, asking to be admired. It felt like a man someone would crave to touch but also that wouldn’t dare to do it. Minseok was holding his breath, fascinated by the painting, the naked man that was too beautiful to tear his eyes away from.

Minseok scoured his mind for a solution to his dilemma; he had just fallen in love with a painting, skipping the ‘studium’ part and slithering directly into a full-fledged ‘punctum’; the artwork was piercing through his heart, ripping it out. He wasn’t able to form coherent thoughts at all and settled to just taking in the painting. Everything else around him was of no meaning to him right now, it was just him and the painting.

Minseok felt a presence behind him. “You like it?” He nodded with energy, not lifting his gaze even once from the masterpiece. When Kai put a hand on his shoulder, he noticed how tensed his body was and how it relaxed under his touch, as Minseok released the breath he was holding. “Who painted this?” he asked, his eyes sparkling. “I did, a few years ago. Never had the heart to sell it.” The small man turned around abruptly, the movement making Kai’s hand slide off his shoulder. He looked at him, wide-eyed. “You did? You really did it?” The artist smiled, pleased to see his student’s honest reaction, “One of my greatest achievements.” Minseok wondered how come he had never seen it before since he attended all of Kai’s exhibitions.

He turned around again, completely mesmerised by his professor’s painting. As for Kai, he looked at his student, gauging his reactions and trying to determine the multiple feelings behind them. He enjoyed his passionate gaze that was scanning his work, his eyes shining. Never once had he seen him with this kind of expression and he was happy that his painting was having such an effect on him. He looked beautiful, his body freshly washed and his long hair falling on his shoulders. He was aching to touch it, to thread his fingers through and feel each strand, but he restrained himself. When he realised his body was aching for proximity and unconsciously leaning towards his student, he coughed to calm his hormones and stepped back, regaining his composure. “The kitchen is this way.”

He led the way, followed by Minseok who was still completely magnetized and fixed at the painting until it was out of sight. They passed by a couple of pictures, each one of them as gorgeous as the others, mainly shots of objects or people in movement, some sceneries too. The curious glances Minseok gave to them didn’t go unnoticed by Kai. “In case you are wondering, those are all mine. I also work as a photographer on the side, but it’s a secret," he said, winking.

When they reached the kitchen table, Minseok glanced at the plates of food laid in front of the two chairs that were facing each other. They both sat on their seats, the younger playing with his meal, not really hungry. Instead, he gulped the glass of water and took the pills that were placed beside it. He fidgeted on his chair, uncomfortable under Kai’s intent stare. “You know, I think I really should go home. I really need to go to work,” he said while averting his eyes.

Kai stopped eating, “I already told you that you have your day off, you should stay,” but Minseok wasn’t having it. Getting agitated, he talked back, rambling in the process, not thinking about what he said: “I already skipped work yesterday, I can’t afford to skip it today too. I need the money, but you wouldn’t know since you are rich enough to have this house all to yourself and buy all those expensive decorations and fancy designer clothes.”

The student instantly regretted his bitter words when he saw Kai’s expression fall. The older man would usually come up with a sarcastic comeback or just snatch a clever remark but he didn’t this time. Instead, he seemed hurt and turned expressionless for a second before flashing a faltering smile. It wasn’t very convincing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. Sorry for assuming, it’s just-” Minseok fell silent again. How could he even excuse such harsh words?

They stayed silent for the next minutes, Minseok uneasy and wondering if he should try to apologise again. The hesitation was killing him. He wasn’t used to dealing with a soft Kim Kai. Just when he was about to open his mouth, finally deciding to break the silence, Kai spoke, “You should tell me more about yourself.”   
The student stared at him, surprised. “Me? Talk about myself?”   
The artist nodded.   
“There is nothing interesting about me," which earned him a chuckle from the other man, “Surprise me.” There it was, the familiar mischievous glint in his eyes. “What do you want to know?" Minseok asked. “Everything, anything," said Kai, smiling. “Only if I get to ask you questions too.” The professor nodded, liking the direction their discussion was taking.

Kai gulped down his coffee and smiled. “So, who’s starting?” he raised an eyebrow.  
Minseok had one particular question burning at the tip of his tongue, but he refused to just spit it out; was Kai like this with his usual playdates too or could he for once be allowed to feel special? “So, well, I’d like to, maybe ... know about the origin of your sculptures. Tell me about it?”


	7. L'homme penché

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｌ＇ｈｏｍｍｅ　ｐｅｎｃｈé »  
> eng.: ‹ leaning man ›  
> Ｃａｍｉｌｌｅ　Ｃｌａｕｄｅｌ

Minseok’s breakdowns did miracles for his work flow. Adelpha had given him an earful the day after him involuntarily spending the night at Kai’s. He stood true to his words and deregistered from Kai’s courses, but he also had a feeling it should have been like this anyway. It was his luck that he already had those modules finished long ago and he just planned taking them for extra credits he didn’t really need in the first place. Ever since he started spending so much private time with his professor, he had the feeling the flirting had increased significantly. He liked the attention; it made him feel wanted, but he was still careful. He didn’t want to trust Kai just yet.

And Kai had gotten bolder with his flirting; less looks, but he actually got closer, brushing past Minseok with his shoulder, touching his hand when talking in uni. But the worst was when Kai happened to be behind him in the line for the cafeteria. Minseok couldn’t understand how the older man managed to race his hands over his hips or his back when talking to someone without anyone realising it, while Minseok was dying with every shiver running down his spine. Exactly like a day ago.

_Minseok was waiting in line at the cafeteria. He_   
_had managed to get in at rush hour and he hated it._   
_Leaning on the wall, he was scrolling through his_   
_phone. Adelpha had called him earlier, saying that_   
_she’s sick at home and wouldn’t be coming to uni_   
_today, leaving him alone. He sighed and nibbled on_   
_his phone case, feeling a bit distressed. The line_   
_wasn’t moving, since the cafeteria staff was still_   
_preparing and it was already quite full at that time_   
_and he was standing last in it at the moment. He_   
_sighed again, indulging in his wishful thinking, that if_   
_Del were there at least with him, she would have been_   
_able to distract him from the crowd he hated to be_   
_stuck in._

_Completely out of the blue and pulling him out of his_   
_miserable thoughts, he felt something at the back of_   
_his arm before a hand came to rest on his waist, paired_   
_with a deep, whispered, ‘Minseok’. He shrieked a little,_   
_knowing exactly who the owner of the voice was, but_   
_finally managed to not turn around. What luck he had_   
_today._

_“Ah, Mr Kim. You’re going to the cafeteria today?”_   
_“Oh, Mr Zhang what a pleasure to meet you here. Yes,_   
_since I’ll stay longer today and won’t have time to eat_   
_at home.”_   
_“You should come over for a coffee later.” Great._   
_Minseok was in trouble, two professors behind him_   
_and one of them grabbing his arse. He tried to step_   
_forward but didn’t calculate Kai’s reaction. The older_   
_man instinctively hooked a finger into Minseok’s belt_   
_loop and held him in place. The student thought this_   
_was part of some kind of sick joke, since Kai’s hand_   
_actually made itself comfortable in his back pocket._   
_He really wanted to get away, and he had the mind to,_   
_at least that was until his grumbling stomach rushed_   
_to betray him._

_“Oh, Mr Kim, you haven’t eaten enough this morning?”_   
_Of course. He couldn’t miss a chance. The smug tone_   
_in Kai’s voice was unnerving._   
_“No, apparently not, Mr Kim. Dr Zhang,” He slightly_   
_turned around and nodded towards the other guest_   
_professor to acknowledge him. He wondered if really_   
_no one else could see Kai touching a student in broad_   
_daylight. Minseok rolled his eyes and was rewarded_   
_with a squeeze at his butt. He was seriously_   
_irritated by Kai’s instincts and Minseok had the feeling_   
_he always turned up when he did something the older_   
_man could use to his advantage. Minseok, not being_   
_able to take much more, straightened up and moved_   
_away from Kai, successfully this time. He had a feeling_   
_Kai was grinning at the sight of him, clearly enjoying_   
_the show he was putting on. At last, the queue finally_   
_started moving and Minseok got further away, at a_   
_safe distance from his professor, to his relief. The_   
_endless torture seemed to be coming to its end as_   
_Minseok was effectively away from Kai and with a full_   
_meal in his hands. Sitting down at a table at the far_   
_end of the cafeteria he started digging in his lunch,_   
_when-- “Mr Kim, mind if we sit here?”_

_The piece of food Minseok was holding with his fork_   
_and was ready to eat fell down on his plate and he was_   
_thrown into a coughing fit. Minseok was convinced_   
_that Jongin had established a goal of making his life_   
_even harder as his sole duty. Still choking on his food,_   
_he nodded, tears welling in his eyes. And just like_   
_that, there went his peaceful lunch. He even had the_   
_audacity to play footsies with him. Minseok wanted_   
_to punch the man so badly but his feelings were so_   
_damn conflicted. Was he really starting to fall for the_   
_man ever since he had gotten to know him better?_

He talked a bit with his best friend about what went down, about the things he shouldn’t have said and how he supposedly shared his unspoken thoughts only she knew about. Del, no matter how much she didn’t trust the professor, was actually finding his drunken adventure rather interesting and was quick to voice her interest towards the situation. Minseok was confused by her reaction, but his best friend seemed to enjoy the unexpected turn his relationship with Kai had taken. However she still emphasised the fact that she wouldn’t think twice beating the older man up if he were to do something that would hurt Minseok again in any way.

Most of the time, ever since his breakdown, Minseok would find a safeplace in his atelier when he wasn’t at work or attending his classes. With his former works destroyed, he was finally able to start from scratch. He was actually glad that he could bring new pieces into existence, create something fresh, free from his self-imposed restrictions which have caused his previous ones to feel all wrong; his inspiration was always forced or the works were achieved when he was feeling plain dreadful. He didn’t have as much time to focus on them anymore but at least he felt lighter now that he had the chance to repent artistically.

He chose a Saturday night to work once again on his exhibition. He was currently taking a break and dancing in his atelier, singing loudly, matching the volume of the music that was blasting. “And we touched, I must confess, it was too much, I was possessed.” He took a breath and struck a powerful pose, preparing himself for the chorus, “There’s something different in your eyes, the way you’re moving, it's possessing me. Oh, I can’t control it, oh-” He caught himself mid sentence. It was like realisation washed over him like a cold shower, “Why am I thinking about Kai when singing it?” He sank down on his couch and stared outside the window, whilst Kai’s face and teasing touches were not leaving his mind at peace. “Am I really already possessed?”

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤ04:27._

That was the time displayed on his phone when the student took his next break. Minseok completely lost track of time while working on one of his pieces for the exhibition. Once again, he had ended up working on it for the whole night and it was already a little after 4 in the morning.

He rubbed his tired face, the exhaustion hitting him all at once. This was the first time in the night he was breaking away from the intense focus he had been holding for hours, and he now realised that he couldn’t even think of anything else throughout painting due to deep concentration.The assembly of the exhibition was starting in two weeks and both breakdowns had helped him massively in developing his artwork. For once, he was satisfied, and he felt great regardless of his tiredness. But it was about time he went home.

Putting his few belongings into his backpack, he shouldered it and looked around the room, his canvases drying on their easels. A smile rose on his lips, tired but happy and he flicked the switch, the room turning dark and finally closed the door, locking it after him. Dragging his tired feet, he could already hear his bed calling out for him. Maybe he would be able to catch one of the late-night buses at this time. He decided to stroll around the dimly lit hallways, a yawn escaping him as he started walking.

Walking through the familiar and silent hallways at this hour, he could hear his bones cracking from having been in one place for too long. The stroll was helping him relax his nerves and shake his exhaustion nonetheless. That was until he reached a door he didn’t really recognise, “Did I really just walk into the wrong atelier wing?” The student looked around, and indeed, he was in the wrong wing. He now realised that he had probably walked into a completely wrong direction from the beginning, when he exited his atelier room. He sighed and scratched away a bit of the acrylic colour that was dried up on his nose, “I should really sleep.”

With that intention in mind, he turned around but crashed into something that definitely wasn’t there before. Two hands circled around his arms and stopped him from falling. This scenario was starting to get too familiar. Minseok slowly opened his eyes and looked up. He gasped when he realised who was standing before him.

It was his professor, or more correctly ex-professor, Kim Kai. He was wearing worn out clothes, dusty here and there, and a faint scent of gypsum and freshly cut wood lingered around him. He was wearing glasses and his hair was partly tied up, specks of dust scattered all across his features. “Look who ran into my arms.” Even at almost four forty in the morning, the man had it in him to make sarcastic remarks. Minseok rolled his eyes. He looked him up and down again, surprised at his different appearance. He was so used to seeing Kai in more sophisticated clothes, even that one time he was in his apartment he was dressed elegantly. Wearing worn out clothes did not subtract from his sophisticated aura; on the contrary, even that was making him look stunning and utterly attractive. Minseok gulped a little bit, his throat dry, as he stood still enclosed in Kai’s arms.

“Like what you see?” the professor asked with a smirk.  
“Shut up, it’s way too early for your bullshit.”  
“Na, na,” Kai smugly grinned at him. The attire paired with that grin suited him way too much this early in the morning under the dim hallway light. A tingly feeling spread in Minseok’s stomach and he tried to ignore it, same with the heat rising to his cheeks. “You can come in, would you like some tea or wine?” He pointed at the open atelier door behind him.  
“Who tells me you won’t jump me if I do?” Minseok squinted at him; he still didn’t trust him even if he felt like he owed him to repay his kindness from the last time. Yes, he appreciated their interactions and his caring, but that didn’t mean he trusted the man.

“I won’t do anything to you, unless you want it,” Kai still had his hands around Minseok’s upper arms and pulled him closer. Minseok stumbled into him from the suddenness, steadying himself with his hands on Kai’s chest. He gulped heavily. He could feel the muscle movement under the shirt. “I wouldn’t mind doing things to you, to be honest.” He purred in Minseok’s ear at fucking four forty in the morning.  
“Kai!”  
“I would prefer it if you called me by my real name instead of my nickname,” he pulled away and one of his hands slid down to Minseok’s wrist as he dragged him along. “Hey, I didn’t accept your offer.” “But your increasing heartbeat did.” That was when he realised that his heartbeat had truly gone up. The blush on his cheeks and ears grew bolder and he hung his head low in defeated embarrassment.

Once in the atelier, Kai bore a knowing smile on his face, which remained unseen by the younger one. “What do you think?” The question confused Minseok, since he couldn’t contextualize it. It all cleared up though when Kai stepped away and allowed him to view what stood in his line of vision. Kai quickly went around Minseok, whose eyes were already glued on the piece, and silently closed the door.

Once Minseok had set his eyes on the unfinished sculpture, he couldn’t control the instant awe and admiration that struck him. He was stunned, speechless. The spark was there again, his love for those unconventional, sensual sculptures. He reached out his hand, stopping an inch away from it, holding his breath.

“Go ahead.”

With Kai’s approval, his fingers cautiously touched the material so lightly as if it could collapse in powder to the ground at any second. He caressed the rough material tenderly, the curves and edges that were chiseled with a rough variant of a chisel. He let his fingertips glide over the unrefined material, in pure awe.

Kai stepped up behind him, so close that Minseok’s back was pressing up against his chest. He circled one hand around his throat and chin, tipping his head back. Minseok looked star-struck, just like that time in his apartment. He was starting to get jealous of his own artworks. He bent down, grazing Minseok’s ear shell with his lips, making the student tremble from the contact. “Why don’t you look at me that way?” he asked his student, whispering, his breath hot, laced with a hint of wine.

Minseok’s eyes went wide and his breath hitched in his throat. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears and he could feel the rise of temperature in his body. His heart was doing somersaults and he could even feel Kai’s three digits under his pulsating aorta. His body was suddenly hyperaware of every single movement the artist was doing against him, making his composure completely crumble to pieces.  
His hand clutched onto Kai’s arm over his chest, as he was trying to regulate his breathing, completely frozen. Kai’s other hand came to rest on his hip, the thumb caressing the fabric against it. Minseok shivered, recalling the morning at Kai’s place. Kai put a tad bit more force into the hand that held Minseok’s chin in place and forced him to tilt his face away slightly, giving access to his neck. With his lips hovering over it, he asked in a whisper: “Why are you refusing me, when your body isn’t? Do you hate me that much?”

They stood in silence for an eternity, Kai having his arms circled around Minseok’s upper body, effectively back-hugging him, and hiding his face in the crook of Minseok’s neck who was still desperately holding onto his arm, his heart rate anything but regular. “Why?” the young man whispered, his hushed voice breaking, almost choking on this little question when he felt lips on his neck, goosebumps raising on his skin.  
“Call me Jongin.”

Minseok’s breathing hitched. “Why?” he choked out once again.  
“Because I might be taking a more serious interest in you, if you allow me to,” Jongin whispered still against his neck. The tingling feeling was back at full force in Minseok’s stomach, and he realised it might not just be superficial, sexual attraction. Jongin’s grip around Minseok tightened. “You don’t have to answer me, just let me fall for you,” he said as he breathed in the younger’s scent. Kai, no, Jongin spoke so low, Minseok wasn’t sure if these were Jongin’s true feelings or the wine talking. Not only that but he also couldn’t get everything the man whispered, even with him being next to his ear. He would need confirmation once the other man was sober. He didn’t want something he might regret later to happen.  
“Ka-Jong-Jongin,“ Minseok tried out the name, stumbling over his own words. He mentally slapped himself for stuttering.  
“Minseok.” Fuck, his own name sounded so much more sensual and natural, rolling off the professor’s tongue, spoken into his ear from behind.

Minseok felt Jongin’s arms loosen around him but instead of letting go, he turned him around. He circled his arms around his shoulders and pulled the student closer. On the other hand, Minseok let himself fall back slightly, hands balled against the other’s chest to create some space between them. Jongin stared down at him, peeking under his loose bangs at the young man. His usual composure was nowhere to be seen and Minseok’s heartbeat quickened. Jongin’s eyes dangerously travelled down to his lips as he unconsciously wetted his own. His hand moved up to Minseok’s hair and he buried his fingers in the loose strands, the younger trembling and shuddering under the soft touch. He pulled his face towards him and Minseok shut his eyes close, but unlike the student’s expectations, Jongin didn’t kiss him, which left him with a sensation of longing he wasn’t used to. Instead, Jongin pulled him closer to himself. Minseok could slightly smell the gypsum on his shirt, but the smell of freshly cut wood was stronger. Jongin’s lips hovered once again over the student’s ear.  
“I won’t do anything until you say it’s okay,” he whispered before leaving a soft kiss under the ear. Minseok’s heartbeat picked up on speed again and he fisted his hands into Jongin’s shirt, to somehow restrain his urges. He felt so powerless against this.

“Jongin, I need to know-” “Yes?” “How much have you drunk?”  
“Not believing me?” The usual, snarky tone was back and Minseok was utterly confused as to which side he preferred more. Both versions of the man made him buckle his knees, that much was certain. “You don’t believe me? I just started drinking at four and I’m not halfway through my second glass.” Minseok cleared his throat, and argued softly: “Don’t you think I’m entitled to doubt you?”

Jongin snickered into his ear. Minseok was still in his embrace and couldn’t get away, “What if I told you I blocked every student’s attempt to approach me for non-educational purposes? That you’re the only one that saw my apartment, the only one who knows I also work as a photographer. What if I told you that you’re the only one that saw a work in progress?”

That’s when Minseok remembered an article he once had read about the artist Kim Kai where he said he would 

_“rather destroy a finished piece_

_if someone had the audacity to_

_see one in an unfinished state”._

“Why are you showing me this?” The older man, clearly enjoying the close proximity, tucked a stray strand of hair behind Minseok’s ear, who unconsciously tilted his head towards the hand. Minseok felt a blush rise on his cheeks.

“Because I am starting to like you.”  
“In which sense?”  
“Beyond just simple attraction,” he stated matter-of-factly and inclined his head to the same direction as Minseok’s, maintaining eye contact. Minseok, on the other hand, panicked. He tensed, trying to ignore the full-fledged blush that was going on on his face and the incredibly loud, thumping sound of his heartbeat going on in his ears right now. It couldn’t be happening. It took him a few seconds to register Jongin’s sudden confession and regain his senses afterwards .  
“Jo-Jongin? Can you give me some time to collect my thoughts?”  
The artist smiled, “Sure, you have your exhibition coming up. But if you keep forgetting to eat, I’ll increase my teasing. See it as punishment,” Jongin winked at him before letting Minseok pull away.

Minseok was almost out the door when he turned around one last time, his heart still beating too fast for his own good, “Thank you.”  
“What for?”  
“For opening up to me and showing me something so beautiful.” He smiled genuinely and Jongin was once again feeling breathless from the radiance of it. He may have fallen a little harder.

“Something beautiful? The sculpture is far from being finished, it’s much less than beautiful.”  
“Who said I was talking about the sculpture?” with these words Minseok closed the door behind him.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᶜᵒˡᵉᵐᵃⁿ ʰᵉˡˡ ⁻ ᵖᵒˢˢᵉˢˢᵉᵈ](https://youtu.be/TfOHedS7FNM)  
[ᵈᵉᵉᵖ ᵖᵘʳᵖˡᵉ ⁻ ˡᵃᶻʸ](https://youtu.be/STFWapwyqMo)


	8. Carrara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｃａｒｒａｒａ »  
> Ｂｅｒｔｒａｍ Ｋｏｂｅｒ

Minseok was waiting anxiously for his friends to arrive. Skipping between smoking and loosening his hair tie to messing up his hair and pacing up and down on his heels, he was doing everything at once. The opening of the exhibition wasn’t for another 30 minutes, but he couldn’t help but be anxious. Still fidgeting nervously, he turned around once again and fixed his hair in his reflection. While doing so, he spotted three figures approaching and recognised two of them straight away.

“Adelpha!” he quickly turned around and greeted her in delight, which caused some people next to him to give him looks, since his voice cracked when he saw his best friend.  
“Minseok! My baby!” she screamed back, arms wide open. Minseok didn’t need another invitation and ran up to her, almost jumping into her arms.  
“You’re finally here!” he whined. Adelpha spun them around like she would if they were  dancing. “We’re here baby, and look who I picked up along the way.” She released him, giving him the chance to turn around.

“Desmond!” he threw himself in the bus driver’s arms. The elderly man laughed loudly and embraced the young man. When the two men detached themselves from each other’s arms, the driver introduced his wife. “Meet my wonderful wife, Audrey.”  
Minseok grabbed her hands in his and beamed at her, “I heard so much about you. I’m so happy to finally meet you.” He embraced her tightly and her reaction showed that he had caught her off guard, but she was still smiling fondly. “I hope Des only told good things,” she stroked her husband’s arm.  
Minseok winked at her before kissing her knuckles, “I must say, he understated your beauty, Miss. Are you still single?”  
Audrey covered her face with her hands and wheezed, “Des, why didn’t you introduce me to such a formidable young man earlier?”

The group shared a heartfelt laugh before Minseok ushered them in. Snow was heavily falling from the sky and it was getting cold, the December air mercilessly kicking in. After they had entered the exhibition venue, he helped Adelpha out of her coat, whistling.  
“If I liked women, you’d be the one. The Mariana Trench just called, it wants its depth back,” he said, before turning her around her own axis. She was sporting a deep, dark blue, backless dress with white lace border and a white stole loosely draped around her shoulders.  
“Thank you Min, I just wanted to show those success-hungry dogs who’s mine,” she linked arms with Minseok, who was wearing dark blue pants, a white suit jacket and a partly unbuttoned dress shirt with bold, blue and white stripes, his freshly cut hair lazily falling into curls.  
“Is that a zipper?” she asked, smiling mischievously, but before she could grab the zipper at the front of his dress shirt, Minseok took hold of her hand and looked up to her, his other hand reaching down to her lower back where the zipper of her dress was.  
“Do it and I’ll pull down as well,” he smiled at her.

Suddenly, they heard the shutter of a cell phone going off. Audrey had just taken a photo of the two best friends, and smiled at them, “If Desmond hadn’t already told me you prefer men I would be arranging your wedding by now.”

They walked around for some time before the official vernissage started. Adelpha got easily bored and snuck away to get herself and Minseok something else to drink besides overpriced prosecco. She re-appeared at his side holding two cocktails. “They had no beer so I guess Cubra Libre works as well?” Minseok took the drink and added, “Audrey is right, I should marry you, you would make the perfect husband.” He blew kisses at her and silently thanked her for her excellent choice.

A considerable time into the vernissage had passed and Minseok had gotten sick of it already; everyone was coming to him, congratulating him and giving their praises, spitting a few incoherent words since most of them didn’t know shit about art, and if they did, they talked too much about possible forms of interpretation. Minseok could only smile politely, which annoyed him. Adelpha, like the great friend she was, didn’t leave his side the whole time. When they finally got a break from the overexcited analysers, they walked through the exhibition halls and observed the people spouting nonsense at each other in an attempt to appear more sophisticated than they actually were when it was evident they had no idea what they were talking about. Adelpha still had her arm linked with his and dropped her head on Minseok’s shoulder, “Those people are so tiring, how can you keep up with  them throughout your uni days?”  
“Alcohol,” he nudged her side.

“Oh, Adelpha, is that you?”  
“Oh dear, god, no!” she hissed under her breath. “Oh, hey, darling, fancy seeing you here,” her pitch went unnaturally high, trying to mask her distaste.  
Adelpha subtly took hold of Minseok’s elbow so he wouldn’t run away. He jammed his hands into his pockets and started listening to the girls. He soon spaced out though, one of the exhibits grabbing his attention. He was mesmerized by the flow of the colours used in it. He stared at them, imagining them as a waterfall. That was until his eyes flitted to the note next to it and its title was, what a surprise, ‘Waterfall’. He scoffed at himself and smiled. Even if it was contemporary, it still had a title. Turning around to Adelpha who was still agonizingly talking to her acquaintance, he lightly stroked her arm and smiled at her. Walking into her personal space, he looked up to her and suddenly felt watched doing so. His hand landed on her waist, “Babe, should I get us something to drink?” He cringed, unseen by her companion, and so did Adelpha on the inside.  
“Oh, Adelpha, I didn’t know you’re here with someone, I’ll excuse myself. Bye-bye.”

Once the other girl was out of earshot, his best friend let out a disgruntled snort. “Fake ass bitch. But thanks for saving me, though. I’ll get us something to drink, the bartender’s giving me a discount,” she winked at Minseok, who handed her some money in return, before she walked off. He turned back to the artwork and got lost in admiring it again. That was, until he felt a squeeze on his buttcheeks, a rather forceful one too. He swallowed his squeak and turned around, ready to fight. Unsurprisingly, the one that had brushed past him was none other but his professor who was currently conversing with another man. He was throwing glances over his shoulder to Minseok, one eyebrow raised in his usual mischief. Suddenly, he snuck a smug wink and wetted his lips in a slow, sensual manner. Minseok felt a shiver crawl down his spine and he averted his eyes. No wonder he felt watched earlier.

“You look like you saw a ghost, guess you probably need that,” Adelpha pressed the glass full of Cubra Libre against his neck.  
“Ghost or more like our too-hot-for-his-own-good-and-too-much-of-an-arse-slash-good-for-nothing professor Kim Kai.”  
Adelpha let out a whistle, “If I was him, I would also grab your buttocks whenever I had the chance. You have a great butt anyway.”  
“You- what!” Minseok exclaimed incredulously.  
“That wasn’t subtle at all, like he wanted me to see it,” she scoffed, looking into the direction the older man had gone. Minseok stared speechless at her.

But what Minseok didn’t know was that Jongin was jealous. Jealous of the girl next to him. Jealous of how he touched her, how she leaned into him, playing with his hair. He hated it. He had to make sure she’d see him grabbing Minseok’s lovely shaped butt. He wanted to have him all for himself. The feeling was worse than that time he wanted to have those Italian tools and he had paid a shit ton of money to get his hands on them.

Every time he caught a glimpse of the young man, the possessive feeling was back more intensely; he would get him whatever the cost was. Jongin angrily downed the drink he had in hand, his eyes not leaving the two friends who were too close for his liking. “Jongin, are you okay, you seem riled up,” the man next to him, Dr Zhang, noted. Jongin just waved him off and smiled. Suddenly, he caught something out of the corner of his eye and whipped his head around. He stared at the artwork, walking up to it with long, quick strides and he squatted down to check the name tag.

┍━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┑  
┃　«À mauvais ouvrier point de bon outil»  
┃　Name: Minseok Kim  
┃　Type: Mixed Media  
┃　Material: Acrylic on Prints  
┃　Size: 50 x 40cm  
┕━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┙

“That can’t be true,” Jongin whispered to himself, still squatting down. He stared up to the prints. Some of the onlookers gave him weird looks and Dr Zhang appeared behind him, “Simple, but effective, I like that. But you should stand up, otherwise you won’t see all of it,” the older man nudged Jongin to get up.

The prints weren’t too big, two, to be precise. A destroyed atelier room was shown, parted in the middle into a diptych. Minseok had repainted some parts in opaque strokes, toned down colours, cold even. The brushstrokes were hastily executed, smeared. Corrections were evident by some of those streaks as well, probably scraped off with a spatula. Three quarters were repainted while the rest was left untouched. The right print showed the desk, some of the remains still on it and the rest of the tools scattered all across the floor. Although Minseok had used cold tones on the left side, he had used warmer ones on this side. Almost transparent, soft strokes, lined with white continuous lineart. Instead of repainting it, he had highlighted most of the things lying on the floor on one quarter of the print, and obstructing unhighlighted sections with a soft mix of reddish orange. Both prints were connected by a thin, golden line from one side to the other, only separated by the gap between them, but it was evident that they were a perfect match.

A post-it note was carefully pinned to one of the edges of the print, a note Kai recognised as his own, with the smiley and the little heart next to the message. He remembered leaving one in an atelier where he stumbled upon some fantastic artworks, but he could feel the unknown student’s pressure just standing in the room, that’s why he had left the note in the first place. Beneath it, Minseok had used a differently coloured post-it note: “Thank you. Let’s meet someday.”

“It’s unbelievable how he conveyed his emotion,” Dr Zhang mused. Jongin was stunned to the point of silence. He abruptly turned around to his companion, “He’s my student. I need to get going.” And with these words he left him. The older man turned back to the prints, “Minseok Kim, huh?” a knowing smile dancing across his lips.

　　　_________  
_Some time later._

Minseok was on his fifth or sixth Cubra Libre, he had stopped counting after a few, and he was starting to feel the rum in it. Del had left a few minutes ago, Desmond and Audrey even earlier. He was all alone now in the wide, empty hallway, having just accompanied his friend to the exit, and a hint of anxiety was starting to settle in. He didn’t know a lot of people at the vernissage and he really wanted to get out of there. He couldn’t deal with the annoying types around anymore, it was already too much from the start. He was about to turn around when he felt a presence behind him.

“Minseok, you’re looking beautiful tonight,” a hand sneaked around his waist.  
“Jongin?” Minseok squeaked a little.  
“I was looking for you. I just wanted to say my goodbyes for the night.”  
Minseok swiftly turned around. He left his half full glass at a table on the side before grabbing Jongin’s upper arms and staring with big eyes at him, “Don’t leave just yet, please, I beg you, or at least take me with you.”  
Jongin took a close look at him, cupping his cheek and stroking his thumb over Minseok’s cheekbone, the tips of his fingers trailing his ear and jaw, “You’re giving me wrong signals if you’re looking at me this way. I might do something to you.”  
Upon hearing that, Minseok got confused. What did that mean? Weren’t his signals clear enough? “Wait. Wait a second. Is it because of Del?”  
Jongin cracked an unnatural smile, “You shouldn’t flirt with someone else, especially an older man if you are already with someone.”

Minseok stared disbelievingly at the taller man. His whole face got distorted for a moment before he started wheezing like there was no tomorrow, his whole body shaking. He hid his face in Jongin’s chest and circled his arms around his torso, tears filling his eyes from laughing so hard. Wiping away his tears, he smiled at Jongin.

He reached for Jongin’s face and pulled him down. “Silly,” he said before he connected their lips. Jongin froze, taken by surprise. It was probably the alcohol that was making Minseok bold but at that moment he was thanking the heavens. He had been dying to feel Minseok’s lips on his for so long, and now the younger was kissing him of his own accord, his mind finally following his body’s desires that he was clearly suppressing this whole time.  
When they broke the kiss, Jongin still frozen by the sudden action, Minseok’s hands lingered on the professor’s face. He dragged his thumb over Jongin’s lower lip, staring at it before wetting and biting on his own lower lip. Jongin stared at him dumbfounded, not believing the sight in front of him. Minseok’s eyelashes fluttered when he gazed up into Jongin’s eyes. “She’s like my little sister,” he whispered before he connected their lips once again.

Finally, Jongin broke free from his trance and he was quick to react, giving in to the younger’s invitation as well as his own burning desire. He reciprocated the kiss, deepening it by stepping closer to the other man and changing the angle of his head, giving more access to his mouth, his hands still on his cheeks. Before Minseok was able to pull his lips away once again, he grabbed his hair and locked his lips in place, a cigarette taste and the heavy taste of alcohol, accompanying his breath. He sucked on Minseok’s lower lip hungrily, earning a quiet moan from the student.

“You’re making me crazy, Minseok. If I could, I’d lock you up,” he purred before diving back in and claiming Minseok’s lips again. He nibbled on his lip and Minseok could only grip Jongin’s side even harder. His taste was exquisite, completely numbing his senses.

Jongin pulled him closer, one hand holding his chin in place, the other at the back. With his tongue, he tried to coax Minseok’s lips open, that weren’t cooperating. Getting impatient, he bit down harshly on Minseok’s lower lip. Another moan escaped the young man, the sound making the older groan in pleasure. Jongin, taking the chance, wrestled his tongue into Minseok’s cavern and tasted him fully, tipping the younger man’s head back. Minseok’s legs, on the other hand, were getting weaker by the second and he wrapped his arms around the professor’s neck, deepening the kiss further. The action wasn’t even enough to start fulfilling their insatiable desires. Both pulled away, breathing heavily.

“Minseok, I’ll make you mine, mine alone,” Jongin deeply growled, eyes dark and Minseok’s knees would have given out, if it wasn’t for Jongin who pushed him against the wall with force, prodding one knee between Minseok’s legs. Intoxicated and aroused, Minseok pressed his growing bulge against Jongin’s knee, creating the friction he desperately needed. Jongin looked down at him and licked his swollen lips, delighted by the other’s eagerness. His hand found his arse, kneading it, grabbing harshly, eliciting another choked moan, “Jongin--” _“_ Minseok, you have such a fine ass. You have no idea how many times I have fantasised about it.”

The professor looked down on his prey, his breathing heavy against Minseok’s neck. He looked even more beautiful than three weeks back in the dim hallway. This time slightly swollen lips, flushed face, half-lidded eyes. “I’ll make you mine, remember that,” he whispered into his ear, his hand travelling beneath the shirt, grazing naked skin. Minseok shivered under him, only letting out a small whimper, too captivated by the artist’s touch, before Jongin suddenly pulled him up. Minseok threw his arms around him, steadying himself. Grinding his bulge into the older man's abdomen who purred in delight about the obvious effect he had on the object of his luscious desire, Minseok gasped at the effect of the slight additional friction. Jongin’s palms squeezed the student’s ass again, his own bulge growing bigger. He would make him his and his alone.

One of Jongin’s hands left Minseok’s butt to grab the door handle beside him and pulled the door open hastily, seeking for more privacy even though the hallway was still deserted. With Minseok’s legs locked around his waist, the arousal only kept growing stronger. Jongin got them both into the unoccupied room, grateful for his luck to have stumbled upon it, and he messily closed the door and locked it. He pressed Minseok against the wall but instead of kissing his lips, he moved down and harshly sucked on his neck, licking it afterwards, branding him so Minseok knew who he belonged to once he was back to being sober. His hands roamed over his naked back, scratching here and there, not leaving a single spot untouched. The sensation of Minseok’s skin against his hands, being able to caress the soft expanse of it felt so good, so satisfying. Minseok, on the other hand, was trying to swallow his moans, biting down on his lips, almost drawing blood. “Let me hear your voice,” Jongin commanded and sucked on his earlobe, hands still roaming everywhere he could. That was definitely too much for Minseok to handle and he fisted his hands into Jongin’s mullet, letting his voice out, moaning shamelessly, his abdomen buckling into Jongin’s stomach. Jongin smiled against his neck, his own crotch twitching at the delicious sound of Minseok’s arousal who tightened the hold of his legs around him.

Grabbing Minseok by his thighs, he transferred him to a table next to him and sat him down. “You like that?” he asked. Pushing Minseok’s upper body to the wall behind him, he went to unbutton his shirt and was delighted to find the zipper on the front, pulling it down to the point the shirt was tucked into the pants. His hands travelled along his ribcage, circling his fingers around Minseok’s nipples, before lowering his head down to his chest and sucking one of them while twirling the other one between his fingertips. The young man fisted his hand into Jongin’s hair and shivered from sexual need. The cold air gave Minseok goosebumps and his already sensitive nipples perked even more when Jongin abandoned them to stare down at him. He was exposed to so many sensations at once he almost lost it when Jongin started palming him through his pants. His hips buckled, craving for release. “Jongin, take me home with you, I’m begging you,” Minseok’s voice was shaky and laced with need.

“It's not like I would have let you choose anyway,” he forcefully grabbed Minseok’s chin, tilting it upwards, a menacing smile on his lips. Standing straight up, his hand reached into Minseok’s hair, pulling at it, “I need to call a taxi,” his other hand wandered down, in between Minseok’s legs, pressing down on his erection. Minseok let out a whimper at the added pressure, “but we need to get rid of our little problems first.” Minseok gulped heavily before licking his lips in anticipation. He understood very well what the older man was talking about.

Jongin pulled out his phone, dialling the taxi company’s number while Minseok slid off the table, kneeling on the ground and pulled Jongin’s hips closer, unbuckling his belt. When Minseok slid down the zipper of the pants, Jongin let out a hitched breath as his raging hard on was about to be freed. He sighed, satisfied when his cock finally sprung free from its restraints, and Minseok let out a little yelp of surprise, while Jongin was giving the address to the company. “Half an hour sounds good,” ending the call, he looked down on Minseok who already had his lips wrapped around the tip of his erection, making the older man tilt his head back in pleasure. Circling his tongue over the tip of Jongin’s dick, Minseok was a little bit clumsy at first but he quickly got the hang of it and it didn’t take him long to have Jongin voice his arousal as he was taking him almost completely in. With his hand still in his hair, Jongin pulled his face further into his crotch, enhancing the delightful sensation, being deepthroated by Minseok. “You have half an hour, my little Carrara,” he said, breathless in between grunts and moans. Minseok was fidgeting with one of his hands between his own legs. “And you should help yourself as well,” Jongin smiled down at the young student, who buried a hand underneath the waistband of his underwear.

The two men reached their orgasm soon enough, Minseok relieving himself with Jongin engulfed in his mouth, the older man totally lost in his glee, his hands still holding his hair tightly, while Minseok swallowed. Minseok detached his lips from Jongin’s now softened cock, licking his lips and struggling to catch his breath. The sight of Minseok wrecked like this was wonderful and addictive; Jongin wanted to see more, to see the rest of Minseok’s facets he had yet to witness as he would set fire to and nourish the desires and needs the student had just barely revealed while fully knowing only him could have this much of an impact on him. The professor caressed his hair tenderly and titled the younger’s head up, “Shit, Minseok, you’re so beautiful.” He crouched down and connected their lips again, tasting his semen mixed with Minseok’s saliva. Minseok did not waste a second to hungrily kiss him back. “I think we should clean ourselves even if we have twenty minutes left,” he exclaimed, once he caught his breath. Jongin left pepper kisses on Minseok’s face before repeating the action on his upper body that was glistening in sweat. He loosened his grip on the younger’s hair and hugged his bare waist while Minseok gripped his shirt, still high in his embrace.

At that moment, Jongin knew that his attraction towards Minseok wasn’t only sexual. As his needs had been relieved, he kept wanting to get closer to the other man, wanting to see all of him, all of his sides, physically and mentally. He couldn’t stop touching him and whispering sweet nothings into his ear, kissing him, cupping his face, letting his arms feel around his body, hugging him. And it drove him mad that the younger reciprocated his actions as he kept leaning to his touch, tightening his hold, kissing him back with want. They both needed more closeness, a deeper bond.

Time was running out and Minseok’s eyelids started to feel heavy as he let himself relax into the other’s embrace, “Jongin, please take me home with you.” The professor melted at the sound of his cute and tired voice pronouncing his name with such need and affection. He tightened his hold around his waist, holding his body against his, and softly responded: “As you wish, my little Carrara”. Jongin kissed the student over and over again. Minseok was as eager as him, returning his affection and want as much. He was clearly tipsy, the taste of alcohol in his breath too strong to ignore, but the urgency in his kisses and touches gave his feelings away. And so, Jongin allowed himself to believe in a deeper possible meaning behind each and every gesture from the man that was mercilessly stealing and claiming his heart, impacting his life in a way he had never expected he would.

The professor brushed the student’s hair back, tucking some curls behind his ears and pecked his lips once more. He truly was breathtaking.

They needed to get dressed. Minseok like this was a sight only for Jongin’s eyes. He would make sure to bring him home, no one was allowed to see his prey like he did.

　　　_________  
_The next day._

Minseok stretched and sighed contently. He snuggled deeper into the pillows and inhaled the scent of fresh wood and revelled in the sun shining warmly on his face.

“Slept well?” Minseok hummed satisfied in response, still unwilling to open his eyes. “That’s good.” The arm under his head moved and pulled him closer. He moulded his back against the warm chest. Wait, chest? Sun on his face? He wasn’t at home. His eyes shot open and he craned his head back staring wide-eyed at the owner of the well-sculpted chest, “Jongin?!”  
“The one and only. Good morning, love,” a groggy, kind of hoarse voice sounded off and as Minseok raised his eyes, he matched it with the sight of a bed-haired, lazily smiling Jongin who was caringly looking at him, letting his fingertips slide over his thigh. This was too much for Minseok. Lying in Jongin’s arms who was looking like a god, with his face bathing in the sunlight, the still slightly sleepy features, the unstyled, tousled hair, his hand gliding over Minseok’s thigh, the- “Bite marks?” Jongin’s hand dipped deeper to the inside of his thighs and Minseok almost jumped off and instinctively retreated his legs towards himself, but Jongin wasn’t bothered in the slightest by his reaction and just stroke the underside of them lovingly. Minseok shuddered under his touch, his body unwillingly and automatically relaxing.

“Do you remember anything from yesterday?” Jongin’s hand travelled higher over his hip and reached towards his neck, craning it a bit more towards himself. Minseok, who was already trying to scramble away from Jongin, wasn’t able to since the older man laid his arm around him while having his head propped up on the arm that Minseok was earlier lying on. Minseok tried to get the gears in his head working.  
“I remember you assaulting me in the exhibition hall, then I saw Des, Audrey and Del off a while later. After that I met you and I remember kis-” Minseok paled upon the realisation and clasped his hands over his mouth. He took in Jongin’s appearance once more with wide eyes, “W-w-we, ah, I, I--” his eyes travelled down to Jongin's lower region that thankfully was concealed by  the blankets and he touched his lips, shame kicking in, already remembering bits and pieces while Jongin's hand found his hip again and pulled him closer in. He stuttered and stumbled over his own words that spilled over his lips. Those two were still considered to be in a student-professor relationship. What if someone had seen them?

Jongin cupped his cheek. “We did but it wasn't nearly enough. A certain someone decided  to fall asleep once we reached my bedroom.” He winked and Minseok seriously lost his shit. “But we’re still student and prof--” Jongin silenced him by pulling his hands away and he looked at the student’s lips as if he was seriously hungry. The look alone made Minseok’s thoughts completely blank out and he stopped mid-rambling, “Theoretically we are, practically--” he looked up in Minseok’s eyes and then reached down, lips on Minseok’s ear level, ”--we’re not anymore since our circumstances in the relationship changed because a certain someone stood up to me and deregistered from my courses. The change in proportionality means a reduction in conflict since I don’t grade you anymore.” He nuzzled his nose into Minseok’s now shorter hair. “I can do anything I want to you now as long as it is in reasonable and permitted periphery.” His teeth scraped along Minseok’s earshell, who jerked away.  
“Stay where you are, demon,” Minseok retreated embarrassed. Although he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he felt kind of relieved about the new circumstances. Minseok rolled out of bed and stood up, unconsciously smiling.  
Big mistake because Jongin’s body was an artwork in itself; the blankets loosely draped around his lower body -and Minseok wasn’t even sure if he was wearing anything under them- the sun glazing over his body’s features and the way he looked at him. Minseok felt uncomfortable under the man’s enticing, ravening gaze. He awkwardly detached his eyes from it before it lured him in. “I, uh, I’ll go brush my teeth and should, ehm, go home.”  
“No, need to rush. On our way back you told me you have no work today and it’s a Sunday. And I wish to visit the exhibition with you once again-”, Minseok turned around to face Jongin, waiting for the rest of the sentence, “I am taking you out on a date.” Jongin groggily stood up and stated matter-of-factly, the blankets falling softly on the ground and pooling around his ankles. At least he wasn’t completely naked. Minseok coughed at the sudden affirmation and the man’s gorgeous, half naked body that was exposed, losing the little self composure he had left. “I still have your toothbrush from the other time on display, so you can use that one.”  
“I-- You what?” Minseok threw over a shirt.  
“My shirt looks good on you.”  
“I--” he looked down on himself and he really had just worn one of Jongin’s shirts but this one was seriously oversized.  
“Don’t judge me, I like oversized clothes,” Jongin appeared behind Minseok and enclosed him in his arms.  
“Jongin, what’s up with you and back hugging me?” Minseok leaned into the hug, he actually liked it but he wouldn’t say that out loud just now. Suddenly, Jongin let his hands fall to Minseok’s sides and lifted Minseok’s shirt and let his hands roam over the still very prominent ribcage that was always hidden under a thick layer of clothes. “We should do something about that, this isn’t healthy. But I like how you fit into my arms,” the words caused a blush to rake up over Minseok’s neck, “And how you blush in my presence,” Jongin’s voice dropped some octaves lower. Affected by the mix of Jongin’s concern and shameless flirting, he tried not to take the bait this time, and wiggled his way free of Jongin’s embrace as he pulled him towards the bathroom by his hand but he didn’t realise the older man had intertwined their fingers.  
“You should brush your teeth as well.”

In the bathroom, Minseok became conscious of his hold on Jongin’s hand. He wanted to let go but Jongin pulled him closer, his own hand coming to lie just above the roundness of his butt. Minseok rested his hands on Jongin’s exposed chest, since he hadn’t thrown over a shirt. He gave the man an once-over, his eyes lingering on Jongin’s legs. Those thighs, Minseok wondered how they would feel under his touch. He stopped his train of thought and tried to redirect them. ”Like what you see?”

Swiftly, Jongin’s expression changed and he stared at Minseok. His eyeballs were flicking around while he studied his face. All of a sudden, it was dead silent in the abnormally small room. You could hear cars passing by on the wet street in front of the house. It was so quiet, the student was scared Jongin would hear his quickened heartbeat and the blood running a marathon in his veins. It was a somewhat new experience for Minseok, who wasn’t accustomed to such intense attention. Jongin let go of him smiling and Minseok missed the warmth and closeness.

Minseok turned towards the mirror, ready to grab the toothbrush when his eyes fell upon his reflection. He silently stared at himself in the mirror; his neck and chest were adorned with numerous love bites varying in size and colour. Jongin appeared behind him, locking eyes with him in the reflection. “I could get used to your presence in my apartment,” before he pulled Minseok in for a chaste kiss that the young man accepted too readily.

“And I’ll gladly meet with you someday,” added the older man. Minseok was confused for a second until he realised what that sentence meant, “Wait? It was you who wrote the note?”  
Jongin grinned, “I didn’t know it was you but I’m glad it is. But I still have a question, why did you cut your hair shorter?” He asked and let his hand slide into the younger man’s hair, slightly burying his fingers in the soft and curly, black hair and lightly grabbing it. Jongin kept his thoughts for himself in that moment, but it felt even better short. He redirected his eyes back to Minseok’s reflection and saw how the young man had already succumbed to the touch and closed his eyes, letting Jongin roam his fingers through the hair.  
“It was time for a new start,” the young man hummed softly and sighed in contentment and Jongin secretly wanted to be part of this new start.

 

 «À mauvais ouvrier point de bon outil

_eng.: ‹ For a bad craftsman there is no good tool ›_

 

 _ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ_  
[ˢᶜʳᵉᵃᵐⁱⁿ' ᴶᵃʸ ᴴᵃʷᵏⁱⁿˢ ⁻ ᴵ ᴾᵘᵗ ᵃ ˢᵖᵉˡˡ ᵒⁿ ʸᵒᵘ](https://youtu.be/PwXai-sgM-s)  
[ᴾʰᵒᵉⁿᶦˣ ⁻ ᴸᵒᵛᵉ ᴸᶦᵏᵉ ᵃ ˢᵘⁿˢᵉᵗ ᴾᵃʳᵗ ᴵ ᵃⁿᵈ ᴵᴵ](https://youtu.be/63gdelpCp4k)


	9. Untitled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｕｎｔｉｔｌｅｄ »  
> ‹ every artwork without a title out there ›

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤOne week later._

Minseok felt sick; sick because of the feelings the man he wanted so much to dislike evoked in him. He unconsciously brought his hand over the place on his neck where the worst and darkest, deep purplish-red love bite he ever had in his life was. It was somewhat painful but at the same time he liked it. Someone had claimed him without the intention of letting him go –at least he hoped so– and he dearly wished that Jongin wasn’t playing with him. He wouldn’t need that again, ever.

He pulled his legs further into himself, since the tram was full, and he unfortunately was sitting in a group seat which left no room for his legs. It had been two days since the morning he spent at Jongin’s home and he was coming back from his collaborative exhibition he studied in peace, since he knew the man wouldn’t be there to distract him and he hadn’t taken the time to fully focus on it because he had spent the night of the first exhibition day goofing around with Del and chatting with Des and his wife. He also needed some calm time alone to recollect his thoughts and sort out his feelings. Ever since his second blow-up, he was in a constant sensation of dizziness, but not the less worrying one. He felt sick to his stomach and it greatly affected his mood.

The music in his ears wasn’t able to drown out the background noise from the passengers; crying kids, elderly people complaining and just humans being humans. Another wave of sickness hit him and he felt dizzy as tears were threatening to well up in his eyes. He hated the emotional tumult that had taken a hold of his health and body, all of this only because of one man that was completely messing up his life in a way he wasn’t too sure was positive or negative at the moment. Nothing was making sense anymore, especially since he went from hating the man with a passion to taking a 180 degrees turn in a such a short amount of time, feeling the exact opposite way, to even succumbing to his inner desires that were awaken by the alcohol. Or was he really wanting this to happen all along? He stood up and groggily forced himself towards the doors to get out at the next stop, his dizziness and countless thoughts becoming unbearable.

The machine-generated voice announced the next station and Minseok got out, running into the arms of someone and slightly falling back at the impact. With his head hung low, he apologised before trying to get away, but he was held back by force. He wasn’t in the mood to debate.

“Minnie?”  
He whipped his head up, recognising the familiar voice, “Del?” His sickness almost got diminished upon seeing the girl he loved the most. “Del!” his pitch went up and he almost jumped into her arms. His best friend hugged him closely to her chest. She nuzzled her face into his scarf and inhaled deeply, “Man, I missed you. It’s been so long. Are you free? I’m shopping right now, let’s get coffee, there’s so much I need to tell-” her rambling stopped abruptly as her eyes fixated on him, or more so on a spot beneath his face, “What is that?”  
“What is what?”  
“That bruise that looks like someone was about to eat you up?”  
“Bru-” Minseok’s eyes went wide in realisation. He pulled his scarf tighter and held it tightly against his neck. The heat was rising in his cheeks and he looked anywhere else but at his friend. Coughing, he tried to come up with an excuse, “I, eh, uh, I, umm-” He gulped, turned away from her, thinking about an escape route, but Adelpha was faster and grabbed him by his scarf, pulling him backwards to her. She was standing behind him as she wrapped her arms around his smaller frame and rested her chin on his shoulder with a dangerous smile on her face. Minseok gulped, knowing exactly what it meant. “Finally got laid? Never thought you were the type to get love bites, eh?” Her smug tone, almost accusatory, was one of the things that Minseok feared the most, it scared the living shit out of him. He didn’t cheat on her, how could he, anyway? But he felt guilty like he had, somehow, and he would have understood if her ex would’ve tried to file a restraining order against her if he ever had cheated on her; she could be scary as hell when she wanted to and would do anything to get what she wanted. “I didn’t go that far with Jon-”  
“You did what?!” she let go of him and turned him around, staring wide-eyed at him in astonishment. Minseok cursed under his breath, scolding himself for not thinking twice before spilling the slightest bit of information that he knew would make Del way too curious. Minseok was like an open book to her anyway, so she would have been able to decode his signals even without him saying a single word. “You’re on a first name basis with him now, how fucking far did you guys go?!” she was slightly shaking him and Minseok was internally panicking because he couldn’t decipher her emotions. “Did he go down on you? Tell me! All the dirty details!”  
Minseok started laughing nervously and was embarrassed. They were still standing at the tram station and he had to pull her by the hand towards the next coffee shop.

Armed with coffee, the two friends strolled the city centre. “Now spill the beans, my dear friend,” Adelpha wrapped an arm around Minseok and pulled him closer, her smirk giving away her enthusiasm over the matter.  
“Uhh, well,” suddenly Minseok’s scarf felt uncomfortably tight and he hooked his hand under it to create some space while thinking about the morning after the exhibition that was two days ago and what went down after it. He flushed beet red and hid his face in Adelpha’s chest. “Oho, you sure you didn’t get laid? Pretty sure ye’re a bahoochie.”  
“Bahoochie?”  
“Bottom.”  
“Oi, shut up, if you tease me again I won’t tell you shit.”  
“We both know that’s not true. As if you could hold it in.”

Accurately enough to Del’s prediction, Minseok told her almost everything, but she knew which questions to ask so he would spill the rest of the tea as well... He hated her.

“So, any plans on how to proceed now?” Adelpha grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers, rubbing circles with her thumb at the back of his hand and swaying them together. He huddled closer to her, taking a drag from his cigarette. “Minseok, you looked like you were about to vomit the shit out of you when you exited the 5.”  
“To be honest, I was about to.”  
“What’s the matter?”

Minseok sighed deeply and tightened his hold on Adelpha’s hand. His expression dulled and he hung his head low, starting to drag his feet over the wet pavement where the sun had melted the snow that fell during the night. Adelpha studied his face from the side and saw how he clenched his jaw from gritting his teeth, the furrowing of his eyebrows and his scrunched up nose as well. “Minseok?”  
“I don’t know if I’m ready for commitment yet again,” he whispered more to himself, but Adelpha heard him loud and clear. She stopped him and wrapped her arms around his body to hug him tightly, not saying anything. They stayed like this for some time. Minseok started silently sobbing in her arms after he had finally voiced the concern that had been eating at his insides, and she rubbed his back and hummed softly until he had composed himself again. She wiped the tear streaks away from under his eyes with both thumbs, and held his face in her hands, a painful, wide smile adorned his lips.

“Minseok, it’s alright now, you know that, and I actually believe for once in Kim’s good intentions. You should visit him in private, maybe bring coffee for you two, uni coffee isn’t that deid bad after all, I mean, sure, there’s better coffee, but ye know, ye better calmy doony, son. Ye’re a div, he’s a diddy as well. Did I ever tell you that ‘dunderheid’ also means idiot?” Adelpha was rambling and she always used a mix of irish and scottish slang when she was rambling or trying to distract Minseok. It was helping. “Speaking of idiots, will ye be my date for a second, pooched date at 3 o’clock.” She checked his face, “You don’t look that tear-stained as well, perfect.” She linked arms with him and rested her head on his shoulder, “Ugh, my neck, you’re too short.”  
“Fuck you. Should I blow your cover to him, wench? And, pooched?” He lifted an eyebrow, confused.  
“Useless, or fucked, whatever floats your boat. I shouldn’t have taught you scottish slang, you’re always using it against me, but that’s why I love you.”  
“Ahh, that explains a lot. So he’s useless? Any specific reason for that? And, after all, you’re the best wifey I could ask for.” After nodding his head in understanding, he suddenly placed a kiss on her cheek when they crossed paths with a guy that stared intensely at Adelpha and looked like he was about to say something to her. Minseok, who caught Del shooting him a knowing look which meant that the guy was the one she was referring to earlier, held eye contact with the boy, glaring at him and his mouth was set into a hard line; he scowled at him when they passed him. Saying that the boy looked shocked was an understatement. He swallowed and coughed, his friend rubbing his back. “What did he do?” Minseok asked since he still didn’t have any clue about what the man Del deemed unworthy had done wrong.  
“Thought I’d be an easy catch to show off to his friends, told him I prefer shorter guys.”  
Minseok squinted at her, the corner of his mouth twitching, “Fuck you.”

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_ㅤㅤㅤAnother week later._

Minseok was standing in front of Jongin’s atelier room at the university, two coffees in hand. He was extremely nervous and seriously questioning his decision of dropping by to greet him. He wondered why in the world he decided to follow Del’s advice to make a surprise visit. He shouldn’t have trusted her and told her the details of their interactions at his exhibition. But he had no other choice than to do as she asked, or else she would have plotted something herself and he didn’t want that either. He knew better than to ignore her suggestions. At least, that’s what he was trying to convince himself with at that moment as he paced restlessly in front of the door of the sculptor’s atelier. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he was also looking forward to meeting him again. And he would certainly deny the fact that the man was the cause of his excessive, irregular heart rate on a daily basis every time he recalled the events that couldn’t stop replaying in his mind. The sick feeling still wasn’t completely off but warmth was starting to surface over it as well, almost as a plea to give the man a chance to prove himself, to convince him that he was serious about them. Not that he wanted it anyway … or did he?

As he was walking nervously in front of the door with the coffees, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he was there in the first place and scolding himself for not thinking about it beforehand, the door was yanked open. He instantly stopped breathing and almost spilled the hot drinks as a jaw-dropping Jongin stood in front of him; his hair was falling on the side, a bit dusty, and he was wearing his pair of glasses and a light blue shirt that probably had seen better days, the sleeves folded up to his elbows. His pair of jeans was hugging his curves at the right places, accentuating his defined muscles. He was covered in dust, probably some soapstone this time, Minseok reasoned, and a thin layer of sweat was glistening on his face. Minseok couldn’t understand how Jongin managed to look so unbelievably handsome while wearing cheap clothes. It was against the laws of nature.  
Said man combed his hair with his fingers, as the muscles of his arms flexed with the movement and increased Minseok’s nervousness on the same occasion. He wasn’t sure if the fact that they hadn’t seen each other for two weeks influenced his perception, but Minseok felt as if Jongin had gotten even more handsome and sexier than the last time he saw him. He gulped heavily while scanning him from head to toes, instantly wondering why the hell he didn’t flee earlier.   
The older man smirked, “Minseok, didn’t expect to see you here today.” The sound of his voice made his heart skip a beat and he mentally scolded himself for longing to see him in the first place. His body was itching to lean towards the artist but he was completely frozen in place. The younger could only stare at him, wide-eyed, trying to deal with his chest that had gotten uncomfortably tight. “You missed me that much? And you even brought coffee, you’re gonna spoil me.” Jongin took a few steps ahead and took one of the two cups, purposely brushing against Minseok’s hand that was holding it in the process, before taking a sip and sighing in contentment. He leaned towards the student and whispered, “I missed you," his hot breath tickling Minseok’s skin.

The professor placed his free hand on the student’s jaw and directed it towards his face, making their eyes meet. He caressed his skin delicately before putting his finger on the other man’s lips and stroked them gently, the mere feeling of their contact sending electric shocks through the younger’s body. Minseok noticed how his gaze flickered on his neck momentarily, staring shortly at the spot where he left a few love bites when they last met. “To what do I owe the honour of your presence here today?” Minseok stayed silent, too shocked to mutter a single word. Jongin smiled playfully and winked, “Cat got your tongue? I can help you find it.” Realizing he was close to his breaking point, Minseok snapped out of it and stepped back. “No- no particular reason,” he stuttered, almost dropping his coffee for the second time as he was trying to escape Jongin’s hold.  
The older man only smiled, eyes shining with sparks the student couldn’t fully interpret. He opened the door wider, “Come in, I won’t bite. Or I might, who knows.” Minseok’s cheeks flushed a deep red and he passed by the professor, ignoring the churning in his stomach as the thought that he wouldn’t mind him doing it crossed his mind for a split second. Fucking feelings were back at it.

While Minseok was observing the atelier, Jongin leaned against the door frame, “I’ll be back in a few, just need to go to the toilet for a second.” He then closed the door and left the student alone. Minseok drank his coffee while admiring the works that were in the room, most of them seemingly almost finished, probably waiting for the final touches before being fully ready to be exhibited or sold. He once again got absorbed by the artist’s pieces, each of them fascinating him. As usual, the erotic and sensual, recurrent theme was prominent in most of them, which only increased his jumbled feelings towards the man.   
When he spotted the work that was still unfinished the last time he had visited the atelier, he got closer to it and observed the added details. The finished result was fantastic, truly marvelous. His fingers were itching to brush over the material once again but he sipped his coffee instead, trying to push away the feelings that were taking over him. When he suddenly turned around, he hit a chest, and got surprised even though the scenario had become way too familiar at this point. He had gotten so immersed in studying the sculpture that he didn’t even hear the artist coming back into the atelier. Jongin put his hand around the student’s waist and guided him towards a set of chairs at the corner of the room with a beautiful smile plastered on his lips that made Minseok avert his gaze in embarrassment.

After a lot of teasing from the artist, the two men ended up talking about Jongin’s pieces while savouring their coffee, Minseok having countless questions about them. They took a stroll in the atelier and he carefully listened to Jongin’s enthusiastic explanations about his work, enjoying his delighted expression lighting up his features, passion evident in his eyes. Without even realising it, they spent the next hours in Jongin’s atelier, talking about meaningless things and Minseok could not control his heart that was melting by the second. All his initial nervousness and worries were long gone, melted away to give way to the warm feeling that has settled in his chest.  
Jongin looked absolutely stunning; from the way he made wide gestures when engaging into conversation about the things that fascinated him the most to the way his eyes would wrinkle when he would softly laugh, the sound of it absolutely lovely to Minseok’s ears. The natural skinship he would initiate, the occasional winks directed at him, his hair moving as he brushed it off his eyes and the dust falling when doing so; every single action was endearing and charismatic. Jongin, with his crude humour and undeniable charm was slowly putting a spell on Minseok and once again the latter could not even control his readiness for accepting it. He couldn’t believe how wrong his perception of the artist was at the start of the semester, but it wasn’t his fault alone, the artist was held accountable as well.   
Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out while Jongin was tidying up his materials. Minseok looked at his notifications, which consisted of a few texts from Del.

_ㅤㅤㅤFrom: Del_  
_ㅤㅤㅤSo how is your date with the_  
_ㅤㅤㅤhot Professor going?_  
ㅤㅤㅤ🌚🌚🌚🌚🌚  
_ㅤㅤㅤGo and get that booty👅👅👅_

She kept spamming him with inappropriate messages and he almost lost his shit when Jongin suddenly leaned over him, curious about the repeated vibrations of the notifications, and took a peek at Del’s obscene emojis and highly suggestive spam. Jongin placed his hands on Minseok’s hips while grazing his ear with his lips, “I am sorry to disappoint, but I am the one who will get your booty, not the other way around.” His hands travelled from Minseok’s hips down to his buttcheeks and grabbed them, but he didn’t expect Minseok’s reaction. The student started laughing and tried to slither away from him, wheezing, “Stop it, that’s tickli--” he broke into laughter again. The frills of Jongin’s shirt collar came in contact with Minseok’s skin beneath his ear and Minseok’s eyes filled with tears from laughing when Jongin decided to tickle that spot with the loose strands of Minseok’s short hair, his new hairstyle he had yet to get used to, and he retreated his hands from Minseok’s butt in shock.  
Minseok eventually came down from his laughing fit as he closed the text messages which revealed his jazz playlist that he had left open when he reached the university. Before he could close the app as well, Jongin’s face scooted closer, “You like jazz?” The student stopped moving and looked sideways, his eyes meeting with Jongin’s. “Yes, I listen to it on a daily basis.” The artist’s eyes lit up instantly, “Can I take a look at your playlist for a second?” Minseok was confused but nodded.

The older took the phone and scrolled down his playlist, sitting down next to him and unconsciously draping one arm over Minseok, having him in an one arm hug, eyes glued to the phone, “Billie Holiday, Tommy Flanagan, Hank Mobley, Art Pepper…” he kept saying the names out loud, his smile getting wider as he was reaching the end of it. “You know your music, that’s impressive. But there are a few artists I have never heard of before, like Klischée, Movits, Parov Stelar, Seatbelts and others I couldn’t recognise.”

“Well, it’s newer stuff and according to your reaction, you must listen to the older ones,” Minseok smiled softly, realizing that he might be able to show Jongin some things the man wasn’t familiar with. “Care to enlighten me?” the professor asked with a hint of curiosity in his gaze. Minseok gladly accepted the offer and talked more deeply about many artists the older man was hearing for the first time, playing some short bits of a couple of songs, and testing the waters by analysing Jongin’s reaction that showed nothing but interest. It didn’t seem to be his cup of tea but he seemed to enjoy it nonetheless.

All of a sudden, Jongin’s phone rang, interrupting their conversation and making Minseok pause the song he was playing on his device. The professor removed his arm from around him to take his phone out of his back pocket and reluctantly picked it up. “Hello-” he was cut off as soon as he greeted the other person at the other end. He continued with a wide grin, “Yes, thank you...I can’t believe you thought about this, I forgot it myself...No, I am not alone, I am with Min-- I’m not alone at the moment,” the student observed their interaction until the professor’s smile faltered and he mouthed ‘Zhang’, making the younger nod in acknowledgement.  
“Yes, Yixing, thank you for calling to wish me for my bir-...Xing, I don’t have time today,” Jongin draped his arm over Minseok’s frame and pulled him closer, resting his chin on his head. “Xing, seriously, I have a guest...yes, guest-- no, no, no. Just. A. Guest.” Minseok turned around and looked up at Jongin seemingly worried, the older man was furrowing his brows in distress and frustration. Minseok lowered his head and laid it on Jongin’s thighs, making himself comfortable while listening to his conversation with the other man and closing his eyes in the process. “Dr Zhang, no, I’m not in my atelier, I’m at home, I have a date later,” saying that, his hand wandered down to Minseok’s face and caressed it in a loving gesture, brushing a few loose strands of hair behind his ear and out of his face. Jongin looked down at him while Minseok rested his head in his lap and enjoyed the treatment; that was until Jongin mentioned ‘date’ and his eyes shot open. Still on the phone while trying to get rid of his friend, Jongin wiggled his eyebrows and winked at Minseok, who averted his eyes in response. Deep down, he hoped that the date was meant for him and not just an excuse said at the spur of the moment. He pushed away the signs of jealousy that were surfacing.  
“Yixing, we can meet up tomorrow evening, I seriously don’t have time today, is that alright with you? -- Great, we’ll meet tomorrow then, enjoy your evening. Bye,” he disconnected the call and let out a frustrated sigh, “The man can be a pain in the ass, seriously.” Minseok only hummed, still conflicted.

Jongin shifted while putting his phone back in his pocket, making the younger stir and rise, missing the warmth of Jongin’s caring touch. “Are you free now?” Jongin’s question surprised Minseok, realising that it was already the evening and that they got lost into their animated conversations all day. “I don’t have anything planned, why?” The older man grinned. “Then it’s settled. I am taking you to a jazz bar right now. I know a pretty good one downtown with amazing food and talented bands.” He faced Minseok before softly pecking his cheek, letting his lips linger on his skin, and pulled him up with him, winking, “It’s a date. Take it as my birthday gift,” the older intertwined their fingers and pulled Minseok along while walking backwards, never breaking their eye contact. Minseok blushed and followed his lead as his breath was taken away by the man’s expression. When they got outside of the atelier, Jongin closed the door, locking it, and brushed their noses together, “Let’s go.”  
“Wait. Birthday gift?!”  
“Yes, I turned thirty-three today, so my wishes should be your command today.”  
“What? No way in hell!” Minseok laughed at Jongin’s antics and he molded himself against his side as they walked through the deserted halls of the art school.

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᵇᶦˡˡᶦᵉ ʰᵒˡᶦᵈᵃʸ ⁻ ˢᵒˡᶦᵗᵘᵈᵉ](https://youtu.be/8eLl84iMsrQ)  
[ᵗᵒᵐᵐʸ ᶠˡᵃⁿᵃᵍᵃⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵗʳᶦᵒ ⁻ ᶦᵗ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵐᵉᵃⁿ ᵃ ᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ](https://youtu.be/mHNWVEVc9rM)  
[ʰᵃⁿᵏ ᵐᵒᵇˡᵉʸ ⁻ ᵈᶦᵍ ᵈᶦˢ](https://youtu.be/IyRWhz0UtBI)  
[ᵃʳᵗ ᵖᵉᵖᵖᵉʳ ⁻ ᵐᶦⁿᵒʳᶦᵗʸ](https://youtu.be/KYCQFnSBDUk)

[ˢᵉᵃᵗᵇᵉˡᵗˢ ⁻ ᵗᵃⁿᵏ](https://youtu.be/gg0aZvaiJjU)   
[ᵐᵒᵛᶦᵗˢ ⁻ ᶠᵉˡ ᵈᵉˡ ᵃᵛ ᵍᵃʳᵈᵉⁿ](https://youtu.be/XkwgKTNO0Lw)   
[ᵏˡᶦˢᶜʰᵉᵉ ⁻ ᵐᵃᶦˢ ⁿᵒⁿ ⁽¹⁹²⁰ ᵛᵉʳˢᶦᵒⁿ⁾](https://youtu.be/EWEbQ7EZFRY)   
[ᵖᵃʳᵒᵛ ˢᵗᵉˡᵃʳ ⁻ ᶜᵃᵗᵍʳᵒᵒᵛᵉ](https://youtu.be/WXrdYwG17PE)


	10. Allegoria del Tempo che svela la Verità

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ａｌｌｅｇｏｒｉａ ｄｅｌ Ｔｅｍｐｏ ｃｈｅ ｓｖｅｌａ ｌａ Ｖｅｒｉｔà »  
> eng.: ‹ allegory of time reveals the truth ›  
> Ｇｉｏｖａｎｎｉ Ｄｏｍｅｎｉｃｏ Ｃｅｒｒｉｎｉ

His last semester had already started a few weeks ago and Minseok couldn’t have been happier. With his exhibition done and successful, as well as his previous load of classes over, the only thing he had left before graduating and completing his major was his bachelor thesis. It was still a whole lot of work and very time consuming, but at least he felt lighter than the previous semester with all the classes he had and the pressure of a deadline for his art pieces. Moreover, he had received some precious help from Dr Zhang and the nice professor from his class about Belgium's art. He was in good hands. Everything at work was going well and the kids he helped every Monday were as bright and as sweet as could be.

Also, with a caring Jongin on his heels who didn’t know his limits but still never went overboard, he was actually feeling great. Minseok had to admit that their date at the jazz bar did its wonders; he was falling for the man and his feelings couldn’t stop deepening with all their interactions that followed, the result of the professor always somehow managing to know his whereabouts and seducing him with his antics that the student couldn’t get enough of. Jongin had managed to ease the sick feeling he’d been having about their atypical relationship for the past weeks, and it was slowly evolving into something warmer, more freeing. While Minseok at first used to avoid his feelings for the older man, now he was acknowledging them and succumbing to them without holding back. However, there was only one thing that made him feel uneasy; his fear of commitment. But he was trying to avoid this fear by just enjoying their encounters, going with the flow without overthinking it, even though it lurked constantly in the back of his mind.

Minseok had spent his morning at the museum, looking around the archives and a couple of his favourites corners in order to gather information that could be helpful for the completion of his final thesis. Dr Zhang had helped him with some connections of his own, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to visit the archives at all and the man was kind enough to also accompany him. After they said their goodbyes, Minseok decided to take a stroll around the museum alone since it was hosting a new exhibition.

On his way to the special exhibition, Minseok spotted a group of people with notebooks and pens in hand, listening carefully to an older woman he quickly identified as one of the art professors from his university. He was about to skip this part of the museum so as to avoid the group he had no intention of enduring and that would definitely disrupt his peaceful visit, but a figure caught his attention. His dear best friend was standing at the back of the group of students, not paying that much attention to the professor’s monologue. Minseok grinned at the thought of a mischievous plan that came to mind that he was more than eager to put in execution.

With soundless steps, Minseok approached the group and positioned himself directly behind Del’s figure, making sure that he had the perfect angle so that his plan would be as effective as possible. When he managed to suppress his giggles and prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do, he straightened his back and launched his scheme.  
He sneaked his hands on her waist and fondled the skin underneath the fabric of her shirt which he managed to pull up discreetly, his touch so subtle she wasn’t even aware of it. Minseok smirked while progressively putting more pressure into his touch so she would notice his presence behind her back, and whispered, his voice low and suggestive, “Hey, beautiful. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” He could feel her muscles stiffening under his touch while his hand traveled cunningly down her waist, only a single movement away from reaching her ass. “I’ve heard some dirty things about you last weekend, I wonder if any of it is true.” Minseok pushed his chest closer to her back, making Del shiver, completely frozen in place and she suppressed a squeak, shocked at the sudden contact and appearance of a man she didn’t recognise as her best friend at the moment. Minseok breathed in her scent and hummed lowly in appreciation. His voice went an octave lower, “I would like to test it, right here, right now.” That’s all it took for Del to finally freak out. She let a high pitched scream past her lips while violently pushing him away from her. Her outburst attracted the attention of the whole group and Minseok held his lower abdomen, laughing and wincing at the same time since she had managed to elbow him while she was trying to get away from him. He had forgotten for a moment that his friend was way stronger than what her looks suggested.

The professor as well as the students were all staring at her, Minseok barely holding in his laughter as he approached his best friend and stood next to her. “I’m going to kill you, Kim Minseok,” she whispered, her tone grave and threatening. Rare were the times he had witnessed Del in such embarrassment; she was beet red, shaking from either anger or adrenaline, or most probably, both. And that was a victory for him. He mentally patted his shoulder, proud of his stunt that was way more successful than he had imagined it to be. “That’s for all the times you humiliated me. Now we are even,” he whispered into her ear as she hid behind him shyly under the group’s stares. Adelpha circled her arms around the smaller frame of her best friend and intertwined their hands before his chest, resting her chin on his shoulder and whispering a string of additional curse words. He could feel her erratic heartbeat that had yet to calm down against his back.

The professor interrupted their whispered conversation when she recognised Minseok next to her student. “Ah! Minseok, it’s good to see you here! We haven’t seen each other in a while! How is your thesis going so far?” He directed his gaze towards the woman who used to be one of his professors in his first year at university and smiled, “Everything is fine, Miss, thank you.” The lady grinned and cleared her throat. “Everyone, you better take this young man right here as an example for your degree; he’s one of the best students I have had in my whole career.” She looked at him again, fondness radiating off her gaze. “Minseok, your exhibition was fantastic, truly breathtaking! If you need help for your thesis, don’t hesitate to come and see me at my office. I would gladly help you.” Minseok nodded and said a few grateful words, flushed by the shameless praise he wasn’t expecting.

The group resumed their tour of the area with the addition of Minseok, who was sticking close to his best friend with his arm around her hips and their fingers intertwined. Del whispered into his ear, “You can’t imagine how happy and relieved I am to see you here. Even though you scared the shit out of me and gave me a heart attack. Don’t think I’ll let it slide.” Minseok chuckled as silently as possible to not disrupt the professor’s instructions as the previous scene he had the pleasure to execute kept replaying over and over again in his mind. Del slightly pushed him, still a little bit red from the embarrassment, and changed the topic. “Save me from my boring class, I can’t deal with the annoying girls and their gossiping. And some guys really don’t understand what rejection is. The bastards keep trying to flirt with me in the fucking museum!” Minseok only laughed softly, “I owe you one anyway.”   
“You owe me more than one for the number of times I have saved your ass.”  
This, Minseok couldn’t deny. Del could be a pain to deal with but she was truly a life saver in most cases.

He could recall Del mentioning an outing for one of her classes but he had forgotten it was today. The group reached Johan Christian Clausen Dahl’s [‘Norwegian Waterfall’](http://malerei19jh.museum-kassel.de/show.html?nr=1&id=30393&ku_id=43&ku_nr=43&sort=Alle), the piece he was initially planning to see anyway. While Del was standing by his side, arms locked and eyes focused on the piece, Minseok noticed how some of the guys looked at him incredulously when he turned to look over her shoulder and he instantly made eye contact with them. He moved his hands to Del’s waist and held her close by his side while she unconsciously shifted closer to him.

“Minseok, may I ask you to show those students what you’re made of?” the professor suddenly asked him. He looked somewhat shocked at her, but won back his composure quite fast. He cleared his throat and walked up to her, the only reason behind his resolution, when he would usually avoid such scenarios, being that he had read into Dahl beforehand. That could be good practice for him as well, since talking in front of other people was pure torture. Adelpha gave him two thumbs up.

When he settled in front of the group of students by the professor, he gulped and proceeded to talk about the painting he had been eager to see with his own eyes when he first entered the museum. “Alright, well… I don’t know how knowledgeable you are about European Romanticism at this point but Dahl was considered one of the first Norwegian Romantics.” All eyes were on him but he didn’t let it perturb him. “The ‘Waterfall’ is provided by a German museum for this exhibition. As you can see, the work is divided into six parts, the reason being that it was cut apart after or during WWII when it got lost. The biggest part, A, was still in possession of the museum and the sections B and C were bought in the early 1950’s. D-D,” Minseok started stuttering, when he discovered a familiar face in the hall that was observing him with the deepest interest and shot him a quick wink. He tried to fight the blush rising on his cheeks by directing his eyes back to Adelpha, but they naturally flitted to the man who was staring at him. “D was discovered by the then director of the state museums in around 1971, after he novated the possessions. During those years, the individual parts were exhibited as falsely assumed studies or even under the names of incorrect artists. Parts E and F were found in a collection. The director assumed that the pieces all might belong together with the missing pieces of Dahl’s work and a restorer confirmed it after he created a photo montage when piece D was found.”

“Can you add anything more?” a girl asked, obviously making eyes at Minseok. Adelpha just rolled her eyes and commented something under her breath. Unfortunately, Minseok was unable to pick it up, but apparently the other girl did.  
“Sure, I can. Another important factor of his drawing process was his trip to Italy with the prince in-?” he looked over to his professor. “1820 till ‘21,” she replied, beaming.  
“Right, in the 1820’s.” Minseok continued, getting lost into the passionate information about the artist and the painting, which made him gain more confidence as he was talking, ignoring the stares from the passersby and solely focusing on the information he was sharing with the group. “The trip helped him discover the contrast created by light and shadow. That’s how he created the harsh light-dark contrasts for the coastlines, fjords and seas he discovered in his country. And, he lived together with Caspar David Friedrich for around 17 years and was good friends with him.” He reached the end of his small presentation and scanned the hall. “That’s it. Thank you.” He wrapped up awkwardly.

His professor clapped and was beaming even more, “That was wonderful, Minseok. I’m surprised you have such deep knowledge about him.” He scratched his neck, embarrassed, “Not really, I just studied his works, his routine and his life before coming here, because I wanted to understand him better.”  
“That’s formidable, young man,” she said and turned around to her students, “That’s exemplary behaviour for an art student. Maybe you will all be more prepared the next time we have an excursion.” She looked at her wristwatch and back at her students. “Alright, time’s up. You can do whatever you want; stay in the museum and roam around or go back to doing your student duties. Don’t forget to note down a painting of your choice and to hand me your assignment about it next week.”

Most of the students exited the exhibition hall, only a few remaining to look one last time at their final pick before leaving Del and Minseok alone with the other visitors. The two stood in front of the painting for a short while until they were interrupted.

“Minseok, I’m surprised. I’ve never heard you talk about something in my lectures without stuttering a couple of times.”  
Minseok’s body suddenly flinched at the unexpected, deep voice he recognised and the warmth of the new presence behind his back, that made him slightly shiver. A smile spread unconsciously across his lips and he flushed red.  
“Huffy, Mister Kim?” teased Del. The professor only grinned cheekily. “Maybe, since she was boasting about my favourite student and I couldn’t do it myself.” The two best friends turned around and faced Jongin, who looked as handsome as ever. He locked eyes with Minseok, which only made the younger blush more at the attention. Their unexpected meetings were becoming a routine and he had surprised himself looking forward to them on too many occasions. He gripped Del’s arm in an attempt to regain his composure.

“Favoring students, I see. What will all those girls that lost so miserably against our lovely, little Minnie here do?” Minseok cleared his throat and looked away while his best friend was teasing Jongin as if he weren’t standing between them, clearly uncomfortable with this strong attention he was suddenly receiving. “What is such an accomplished and in great demand artist doing here on a Tuesday morning? Don’t have anything more interesting to do instead of following some poor and innocent students?” asked Del playfully. Jongin wasn’t phased at all: “Can’t I enjoy a cozy morning at the museum? Moreover, I don’t think the word “innocent” is one applicable for you.” He winked at Minseok, and added: “And I just saw a masterpiece, standing right in front of me.” He walked dangerously closer, not minding Del that seemed to enjoy their interaction a little bit too much, almost giggling out loud, but Minseok could hear her barely contained squeals of excitement.  
“Do you have an audio tour? Because I want to hear all about you.” Minseok cringed but couldn’t hide his reddened neck and ears that were turning crimson by the second. “Don’t you have something better than this poor pick up line?” he tried to seem casual but he knew that Jongin could see right through him.  
“I came here wanting to experience great art, but I never expected to witness such a vision of loveliness.” Minseok cleared his throat and tightened his hold on Del’s arm. “You- Don’t you have anything better to do now?” He mentally slapped himself for stuttering, “You’re always spying on me.”  
“Is there even something more important than taking care of you? If so, could you please enlighten me, Minseok?”  
Jongin let his fingers comb through Minseok’s hair delicately. “Your short hair feels so good.”

At that moment, Minseok completely lost it. He tugged at Del’s arm as a plea for her to help him and fought while she was trying to take her arm off his, a battle she won. She smiled mischievously and stepped back, “That’s what you deserve for earlier. I have an assignment to work on. I’ll see you later, Minnie. Goodbye, mister Kim.” As she was exiting the exhibition area and got out of the professor’s sight, she winked at Minseok and did some shameless gestures that were better off unexplained.

Jongin put his arm around the younger’s shoulder as Minseok was finishing his animated gaze conversation with Del. “Would you like to look around the museum with me? There’s a new exhibition I haven’t seen yet.” The student fought his desire to hold him back and only nodded. He could work on his thesis later.

As they were walking from one area to another, Jongin’s arm progressively slipped from his shoulders down to his waist until his hold landed steady and firm on his hips. Minseok, uncomfortable because of the public display of skinship, pushed the other a little bit and looked around him, making sure that no prying eyes were on them. But Jongin wouldn’t give up. He was probably aware of him being awkward by his gestures but continued nonetheless since Minseok’s attempt to put some distance between them miserably failed, Jongin only tightening his hold on the student’s hips and bringing their sides flush to each other. While debating whether he should push him harder away from himself or give up altogether, Minseok scanned his surroundings and blushed when his eyes met with the intrusive gaze of a few people who were obviously staring at the two. “Jongin, people are looking,” Minseok whispered into the artist’s ear, his voice laced with discomfort and his eyes nervously looking everywhere but the actual pieces or the man himself. “It’s alright, don’t mind them. They are probably wondering how such a work of art can be walking around so casually in the museum.” Minseok’s eyes widened and he hit Jongin’s chest playfully, “D- Don’t say things like that!” Jongin chuckled and directed him further into the halls, stopping in front of a few pieces to admire them without a care in the world about the people around them. Minseok gave up fighting against the older who obviously had no intention of letting him go.   
Minseok was nervous and had a hard time focusing on the pieces that were displayed, too distracted by Jongin’s comments about the works that were whispered in his ear and the feeling of his thumb stroking his sides possessively. Sometimes, his hand would climb up his back, his strong palm caressing it shortly, before returning to its initial position. Minseok was secretly looking forward to the small changes of position of the professor’s hands on his back, enjoying his warmth and the shivers traveling up his spine occasioned by it.  
At some point, they reached the newest exhibition hall, which consisted of contemporary art pieces. The two men weren’t very impressed by most of it and kept whispering some comments about the paintings and sculptures that were not to their tastes at all, giggling and trying to control their laughter at their crude and sly comments. Minseok would forget the fact that they were in public and would reach for Jongin’s ears, who would bend down to listen more closely, and Minseok would purposely let his lips brush against the older’s skin while bashing the art pieces they both disliked. He didn’t even notice that one of his hands had comfortably settled on Jongin’s lower back, softly gripping at his shirt. Minseok was feeling great, even forgetting the visitors around them, completely relaxed by the other man’s soothing presence, a feeling he was starting to get used to after their many encounters.

“Kim Kai, is that you?” a voice interrupted their chatting. They turned around and locked eyes with a man that looked to be around his forties at maximum.   
“Yes, it is, in the flesh.”  
The stranger got closer and started talking casually to Jongin, praising his pieces that he admired. The artist nodded and smiled, engaging into lively conversation with him. Soon enough, other people gathered around them, a few people recognising Jongin as well. It lasted for a few minutes, while Minseok, still by Jongin’s side, silently watched them converse.

Minseok didn’t want to be impolite by suddenly pulling at Jongin’s shirt to give him a sign to leave the crowded area, but he couldn’t suppress the twist in his stomach at the sight of the artist chatting so enthusiastically with the other people who recognised him at the exhibition. He was starting to feel suffocated under their stare and by their praises about Jongin’s works they admired. It reminded him of his exhibition and he was not up for some unwanted attention. He was also somehow disturbed that their alone time got disrupted.   
As their conversation kept extending, Minseok started to feel out of place, surrounded by Jongin’s fans. The other man’s hand left his hip to shake the hands of the crowd around him, and the lack of touch made him feel even more like an outsider. He started feeling dizzy because of the people that kept coming at them with their attention focused on the artist, still earning Minseok on the same occasion a few intrigued glances here and there by the fans. He was extremely uncomfortable.  
However, feeling a shy tugging on his shirt, Jongin directed his attention at the student and quickly ended his conversation with the people around them. Minseok took the lead and was first to leave the crowded area, walking fast towards the museum’s cafeteria with Jongin on his heels. The two men picked some food and found a free space to eat.

Sitting now at a table, food on their plates, Minseok lifted his gaze from his untouched meal to lock eyes with the professor who was examining him with concern. “Did they make you uncomfortable?” the older asked. “I am sorry about that, I didn’t know that so many people from the field would be hanging out at the museum today.”   
“No, it’s fine. You’re a well known artist, it’s a given that you’d be ambushed like this," he tried to smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. Jongin, sitting right in front of him, bent over the table while racing his fingers down his arm and whispered in his ear, “Now I have you for myself," which made the student blush for the hundredth time that day.

The two started  eating, Jongin flirting with him and shooting some lame art pickup lines while playing footsies with him under the table with a smug grin on his face. It didn’t take long for Minseok to feel more at ease than earlier, and he played along, even if he kept hiding his face behind his hands because Jongin’s cheesy attempt at seducing him was working way too much.

Suddenly, two girls got closer and stood next to their table. “Is it alright if we join you?” asked one of the two, her attempt at sounding appealing repulsing Minseok on the spot. They didn’t even wait for an answer and her friend was already pushing a table to place it by theirs, making the table of two seats as one meant for four people. Minseok raised an eyebrow, not believing how daring the girls were. Before Jongin could even open his mouth, the two girls had sat down with their plates and introduced themselves, mentioning something about being students at a nearby university and wanting to talk more with the artist since they liked his work.  
Jongin only smiled and chatted a bit with them, not refusing the winks the girls gave him as well as their attempt at some skinship. Minseok observed him, hoping he would brush them off, but he didn’t even stiffen in the slightest. The younger man only looked at the three of them talking, the two girls attempting to flirt with Jongin. He took a few bites of his meal to calm down but it didn’t work as the girls’ laughter and high pitched voices assaulted his ears, making him wince. He really disliked this kind of behaviour, but what he hated the most was that Jongin wasn’t brushing them away. It reminded him of last semester when he would see him interacting with the bunch of squealing girls in his classes. He shuddered at the memory.

The disgusting play lasted for a couple of minutes before Minseok stood up, excusing himself and taking his half full tray with him before dismissing it. He didn’t spare a single glance at Jongin, only focusing on fleeing as soon as possible from this place. He couldn’t deal with the situation; he couldn’t stand seeing the man he was developing feelings for interact in such a way with other people.

When he exited the cafeteria and was heading towards the exit of the museum, Minseok felt a hand wrap around his and pull him at the opposite direction than the one where he was going to. He turned around and saw Jongin walking fast, pulling his hand so he could follow his lead. “What are you doing?” Minseok tried to shake his hand off but the other man only tightened his hold, passing by random places and rushing in between the people that were walking casually. “Where are you taking me to? Jongin?” The older didn’t say a word, still focused on taking random routes, turning at the right, then the left, climbing some stairs before going at the farther end of the floor and taking other turns and reaching places he wasn’t too familiar with, making Minseok lose all sense of direction even though he knew the museum almost by heart. Minseok had no clue where they were going to, forced to follow the artist around.

Soon enough, they arrived at an area that was completely empty, the visitors close by not minding the place Jongin had dragged him in. Then, Jongin stopped in his tracks and cornered him, back pressed against the wall with his arms by each side of his head. The two were breathing heavily, thanks to their walk that was a bit exhausting.  
They looked into each other’s eyes for the next moments while catching their breaths. Their faces were close, very close, and Minseok felt the warmth rise from his neck to the tip of his ears at their intimate proximity. He broke eye contact shyly, disoriented by Jongin’s unpredictable actions and steady gaze on him, feeling as if he was peeling his layers one by one, breaking his shell that was already fragile by their previous encounters and was now crumbling into pieces. “Are you jealous?” Jongin asked, his voice gentle, expectant even. Minseok’s eyes widened, his breathing stopping at the same time. Realisation washed over him as Jongin had put a name over the emotion he hadn’t been able to pinpoint, exposing him at the same time and effectively breaking his walls that were losing their foundations more and more. The older placed one hand on his chin, caressing it gently, while directing the student’s gaze towards him. “Are you jealous, Minseok?” His eyes were as soft as his touch, making Minseok’s body weak. At that moment, a wave of emotion crashed onto him, his jealousy confirmed as the older man asked the same question again and Minseok’s contained feelings were suddenly imploring to be set free. It was too much; he couldn’t keep his emotions locked anymore. “Yes, I am. How can I not be with everything that happened between us the past weeks? How can I not be jealous when you don’t even lift a finger to push the girls away? I thought you wanted to make me yours.”

The two men stayed silent for a while, Jongin still leaving his arm by his face and the other caressing it tenderly, his thumb brushing his skin as if it was the most precious thing he had laid his hands on. Minseok was barely able to contain himself at the soft gestures that kept luring him in, convincing him that there was no space for restraint anymore. “Do you care about me?” Minseok was taken aback by the question that sounded so mellow rolling from the man’s tongue, but made the butterflies in his stomach go wild. Jongin’s eyes were calm yet filled with a little spark that he couldn’t quite decipher, similar to the one when he had visited him at his atelier the last time. The younger didn’t need to reflect much and almost instantly mumbled a quiet “I do” while trying to avert his gaze, cheeks completely flushed. But it didn’t work as Jongin kept directing his head towards his own, asking for them to keep their eyes locked. The student couldn’t deal with Jongin’s gentle touch. His body unconsciously kept leaning into it, in a daze, convincing him more and more that his feelings were alright, that it was right to succumb to the other man that had been driving him crazy for a period of time that seemed too long now.

“Can I kiss you?” Jongin’s question made Minseok’s heart rate escalate in a second. He gripped Jongin’s shirt, hands around his waist, pulling him slightly towards his body, trembling in anticipation of what Jongin would do next and the thrill of letting his feelings roam free without any alcohol involved, his mind as lucid as could be. It was crazy how ever since they started displaying any kind of skinship, he became addicted to it, constantly seeking for more. He was dying to look elsewhere but the professor’s gaze trapped him, reflecting his words; he seemed as eager as him to connect their lips. Minseok could feel the pulsation of his own heart in all of his body, hyperaware of every single touch and movement from the other man that was caging him against the corner of the wall.  
Minseok bumped their noses together, nuzzling them and letting his breath tickle Jongin’s face, earning him a shiver from the other man. Jongin’s expressive gaze never once left his, mesmerizing. Minseok was feeling as if his heart would explode at any second if they would stay like this for longer, their breaths against each other, their bodies’ warmth mixing together and their noses touching softly, with Jongin’s eyes that were longing and so full of emotions. Their lips were almost touching when Jongin asked again, his face even closer, in a whisper, “Would you mind if I kissed you right now?” That was all it took for the younger to lose it. Completely under Jongin’s spell, Minseok loosened his hold on the other man’s shirt and put a hand in his hair, gripping his mullet, while the other cupped his cheek. He pulled his head towards his and connected their lips slowly, tenderly. It didn’t take long for Jongin to reciprocate the action, moving his lips against his. Minseok grazed his tongue against his lips, asking for permission to deepen the kiss, which was instantly granted.

They kissed slowly, the two men exploring yet again each other’s mouths, slowly savouring their addictive tastes. There was no urgency in the action. It was different from their previous kisses; it was slow, tender and sweet, yet deep. They were in no rush, lashing out every ounce of emotion they both had held back for too many reasons that were meaningless at that moment. Jongin’s arms were now roaming on Minseok’s back, an arm making its way along his spine to reach his hair and tug at it, Minseok slightly trembling under his touch. The student pulled him closer, his back leaving the wall he was fully pressed on, as he grabbed Jongin’s ass and gasped at the sensation. He broke their kiss for a moment, Jongin pecking his lips in between Minseok’s words, “I should have done it sooner, it feels even better to the touch than I expected.” As the professor bit Minseok’s lower lip, he let his hand travel around his back, making its way towards his chest that was slightly arched, and pulled him even closer, “I like it when you’re blunt like that.” Minseok let his face be pecked over and over again, hands exploring the older’s body, shivering at the sensation of  muscles under his fingertips. “This fucking attraction to you is getting too much for me to handle.”

With these words leaving Minseok’s mouth, Jongin started to kiss his jaw, trailing down his throat until he reached his collarbones. The student gripped Jongin’s hair once again and pulled his head closer, feeling each strand under his tight grasp, feeling the other’s heartbeat against his own as Jongin was kissing his skin affectionately. They were both in a kind of trance, hands fondling every single spot on each other’s body, sometimes sliding under their shirts, the skin to skin contact making both of them gasp and tighten their holds against one another, panting and molding their bodies to each other like their lives depended on it.  
After kissing Minseok’s skin like it was the first time, getting drunk with each peck, Jongin pulled back and bumped their foreheads together, eyes mildly closed. “I like you so madly, Minseok, you’re driving me insane.” They were both unable to regulate their breathing, lost in their own world, every sensation burning their skin with passion. “I really do.” The student gazed into Jongin’s eyes, which expressed nothing else but fondness, tenderness and care. While leaning in to connect their lips once more, Minseok poured all his feelings into the kiss, wanting to convey to Jongin that he felt the same way, deepening it by circling his arms around his neck, angling his head so the professor’s cavern was even more accessible.

Jongin pulled Minseok’s ass, lifting him in the process as an invitation for the latter to steady his legs around his waist, something the younger did without hesitation, naturally. He was now positioned so that his head was a little bit higher than Jongin’s, and he cupped his cheeks, bending his head down while never breaking the kiss. Jongin alternated between caressing the back of the student’s thighs and his ass, pressing his back against the wall to steady his hold. They were both slightly aroused, their growing bulges evident, but none of them made a move to increase the sexual tension in the air, solely focused on their emotional connection, greater than it ever was before. They broke their passionate kiss when they felt too hazy by the amount of emotions crashing onto them and guiding their every move, catching their breaths.   
“What if I told you I didn’t push the girls away because it doesn’t matter, since you’re the only one on my mind?” Minseok looked straight into the artist’s eyes, ravished by his flushed expression. Jongin continued while caressing his thighs, “Can I ask you to trust me, to not question my intentions, even though I don’t push them away?” Jongin buried his head onto the crook of Minseok’s neck and kissed it lightly, the feel of Jongin’s lips on his skin taking his breath away. Minseok started combing Jongin’s hair again, completely intoxicated by the sound of his voice as well as the sensation of his body fitting perfectly in his. “Would you believe me if I told you that I never showed this side to anyone else except you? That you keep tormenting my mind, that you’re the only person who managed to steal such a place in my life?” His revelations made Minseok’s body melt into his loving touch that accompanied his sincere words, feeling that he was falling harder for the older every second, every single time his deep and smooth voice reached his ears, tickled his neck. “I told you that I would make you mine, but you already are.”

These were the last words Jongin said before Minseok pushed his head away from his neck and kissed him tenderly, each flicker of his tongue caressing the other gently, immersed into each other’s warmth. Minseok silenced him and let their bodies talk and move in unison. Each movement was slow, the two men savouring every touch, everything about one another without any regret. Jongin slowly removed his hands from the younger’s ass and let him slide, regaining his initial position. He took Minseok’s hands that were wrapped around his neck in his and laced their fingers together as he lovingly gazed into his eyes each time they would separate to catch their breath. Their lips were numb and bruised by their kissing session, and a few people passing by were giving them curious glances, but they couldn’t care less. None of them had the power to disturb their intimate moment and nothing could stop them either.

 

 ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᴿᵃᵛᵉˡ ⁻ ᴹᶦʳʳᵒᶦʳ ᴵᴵᴵ· ᵁⁿᵉ ᵇᵃʳᵠᵘᵉ ˢᵘʳ ˡ'ᵒᶜᵉᵃⁿ](https://youtu.be/bTYUyDjVCRU)  
[ᶠ·ᴸ·ᵀ· ⁻ ᵀᶦᵐᵉ](https://m.soundcloud.com/freshlittletunes/time-flies)


	11. Smoke, Shake, Shame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｓｍｏｋｅ， Ｓｈａｋｅ， Ｓｈａｍｅ »  
> Ｓｔｅｐｈｅｎ　Ｓｈｅｆｆｉｅｌｄ

Minseok turned all giddy whenever he’d see Jongin at university ever since the episode at the museum. Adelpha had even made it her job ever since to tease him about it. Most of the time, he was in the library to work on his bachelor's thesis paper, since all the references he needed were there and the thrill of meeting Jongin in the library with the older pulling him in deserted sections to sneak a few kisses wasn't helping. One day, he was sitting together with Dr Zhang, since the professor had offered to help him in case he needed something in regards with the examination paper. Reading over the notes, he remarked a few things. Minseok was listening closely and elaborated on his writings, deep in conversation with the other man. Suddenly, a hand came to lie on his nape, the thumb circling the skin under it. “Dr Zhang, Minseok,” the voice dropped lower when saying his name, making Minseok melt at the sound, and Jongin bent down between the two with his eyes on the draft.  
“Mr Kim, fancy seeing you here.” Dr Zhang’s voice then turned into a whisper, “You two should limit your skinship in such public places.” It wasn't meant to be accusing; just the warning of a friend.  
“Yeah, yeah,” Jongin withdrew his hand from Minseok's nape and the latter automatically pulled a pout, missing the warmth in an instant. “See? He's already pouting. How do you expect me to react to such a response?”  
Minseok was turning red and turned his face away, even went so far as to shield his face with his hand, “Bastard.”  
“What was that, Mr Kim?” Jongin was smirking, his hand back on Minseok's nape, his fingertips scraping beneath his ear, his weak spot. The student resisted the urge to turn away even with his body pleading him to succumb to the touch.  
“Mr Kim, you shouldn't tease your students that way. For once, Minseok is in the right,” Dr Zhang came to his rescue. It was nice having someone aware of their relationship besides Del, even if it still felt weird.  
“Ganging up on me?”  
“We're entitled to,” Dr Zhang shot back, smiling to the point his dimples appeared, a reason so many people swooned over him. ”You're distracting us from our work. Go be nosy somewhere else.”  
Jongin pouted. “Act your age and bugger off,” added the other guest professor with a smile.  
“Alright, alright. By the way, Minseok, I came to give you this,” Jongin retreated his hand and handed the confused student a letter. With these words and the main purpose of his visit achieved, he left.

Dr Zhang leaned over to him and ogled the letter, “Isn't that an invitation? I received one as well, but didn't know from who.”  
“Who's being nosy now, Dr Zhang?” Minseok smiled at him, winking in knowledge.  
“Go ahead, open it. I am already aware of its content,” the professor ushered him. Minseok looked at him with suspicion but opened it anyway. Inside was a simple but elegant invitation for a vernissage in two weeks time. The host was no one else but Kim Jongin, or Kai, the photographer no one had a face to match to yet. Underneath the name was a handwritten note: ‘Bring Adelpha so you won't be alone and wear something léger. If you come wearing the suit from the last time, I will have to take you on the spot’ with a little kissy face. The colour shot back to his cheeks as he buried his face in his hands. The damned bastard and his cheesy antics. It was just a question of time until Minseok’s heart would explode.

After regaining his composure, Minseok and Dr Zhang continued their work, the student trying his hardest not to be affected by his love interest’s earlier shameless flirting, while the other man kept talking about his final project, completely absorbed into the topic.

ㅤㅤㅤ_________  
_Two weeks later._

The vernissage was in the city but too far to walk to. Adelpha was wearing a light dress suitable for spring and Minseok was wearing dark grey pants and a black dress shirt, his hair styled in soft locks. Ever since Adelpha had heard about the invitation, her teasing just increased, but at the same time, she was extremely excited. She heard from Minseok that Jongin was the ominous, renowned photographer Kai and the invitation stated that it would be his first public appearance. That meant that the press would be there as well and probably a whole lot of notable people. The newspapers were talking about nothing else since the day the info was made public a week ago. There was no doubt that the vernissage would attract lots of attention.

“Del?” Minseok laid his head on her shoulder and was picking at a string on her dress. Both of them were currently sitting in a tram which was taking them to the nearest stop in a walking distance of the venue for the vernissage. Being a weekend day, a lot of people were on their way to parties or meetings and public transportation was quite packed. Adelpha hummed in response, head propped against Minseok’s. He let his hand wander to the one in her lap, intertwining their fingers. She squeezed it in return, “What is it? Your hand feels clammy.”  
“I’m afraid,” he sighed, looking outside of the window as well. He turned his body slightly more towards her. She instinctively wrapped her other arm around him.  
“Is it about the thing that went down in the museum?”  
“I know it is a public event today but I can’t help but feel afraid. You know, he’s going to reveal himself to the public. And his Instagram following is massive. I’m afraid--” he stopped speaking and squeezed his best friend harder.  
“You’re afraid you both can’t meet in public without obstacles?” her voice was just above a whisper, speaking directly into his ear. He nodded into the crook of her neck, “Minnie, you know you have my support and I’m pretty sure you will both find a workaround, babe. And if anyone comes for you, I’m going to hunt them down. You two are the epitome of every girl student’s nasty dreams. Is Dr Zhang still available? You have to know, you two are buds after all.”  
“Ya, nasty hoe. He’s married.”  
“Fuck,” she cussed and started laughing loudly, wrapping her arms tighter around her significantly smaller friend. The duo earned strange stares from passengers.

When they got off the tram and reached the venue where the vernissage was held, Minseok’s guess was confirmed; the place was awfully packed; media, journalists and photographers everywhere. Del protectively wrapped her arm around him in a comforting manner before they entered the venue. They were soon welcomed at the front desk by the employee verifying the guest lists.

“Sir. Madame. Your names please.”  
“Dallas Adelpha, with Ph and Kim Minseok, Min-S-E-O-K,” Minseok responded, his and Del’s coat already in hand, the receptionist flicking through his papers a few times.  
The receptionist looked up incredulously, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two, squinting. He flipped through his documents again. He looked like he was about to retort something when suddenly a voice from behind chimed in, “They’re probably on the first page under the section of important people, together with the name of Dr Zhang. It's Zhang. Z-H-A--” the older man inhaled sharply and fished his ID from his wallet, he put it down with a bit too much force on the counter and glared at the receptionist. “Why do you think I repeat my last name, huh?”  
“Dr Zhang,” Minseok’s voice went up in pitch when he turned around, happy to see him at the venue and coming to their rescue. The older man was wearing a three-piece, navy, pinstripe suit with a Bordeaux-coloured tie and breast pocket handkerchief, dark brown, leather shoes and gold-rimmed glasses. His hair was lazily styled back and the slight greyish strands were just making it worse. He looked dashing.  
“I think I just got a lady boner,” Adelpha whispered into Minseok’s ear, her eyes not leaving the professor. “I as well,” he whispered back, while the older man was snatching the entry tickets from the receptionist.  
“Yixing. Tonight I’m Yixing for the both of you. The event will already be pretty dry and serious as it is. No need to make it even more formal,” he smiled at them and Minseok instantly felt like he was starting to develop a liking for dimples as deep as the ocean.

“Do you mind if I accompany you two for some time? Since we’re probably the only ones that know who the ominous Kai is, that gives us the premise to talk shit behind his back.”  
“Sir, I never took you for the gossip type,” Adelpha looked above Minseok’s head when she linked arms with him again.  
“You have no idea, Del. He can talk more shit about other people in an hour than you in a whole week. Our formidable professor is a nosy man,” he scoffed next to her.  
“Thank you Minseok, I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Yixing patted his shoulder before breaking into laughter. Wiping his tears, Dr Zhang clapped his hands lightly while the trio walked around, “You see, Miss Adelpha, I’m not all sweet, innocent looks. I have different sides as well.” As they looked at a few photographs here and there, the older man’s eyes kept flicking from the pieces to the student.

“Minseok?”  
“What is it, Dr Zhang?”  
“Yixing.”  
“Yi-Yixing, what is it?”  
“I’m just curious since I have been observing you and Jongin for quite some time now. Don’t look that shocked at me, it’ll be only obvious if you already know. But as I said, I’m curious, did you know about him doing photography?”  
“I--” Minseok felt the warmth crawling up from his nape to his cheeks. His voice dropped lower, “Yes, I have also seen some of his works already,” he scratched his neck feeling uncomfortable and caught.  
“He must really like you,” Adelpha remarked from the side, thoughtlessly, while she was looking at one of Jongin’s works.

Minseok was standing before an artwork, taking it in, while Dr Zhang had gotten immersed into a discussion with a stranger three works before him, and Adelpha was looking for the bathroom. The photograph depicted two naked women, probably some kind of a burst shot, and the single layers were superimposed and merged into one. He was pretty sure it was two women doing the deed and it definitely involved some sort of kink. He was mesmerized by it.

At that moment, a hand sneaked around his waist, the touch already way too familiar, and squeezed it before dropping to his butt. As always, the hand slid into his back pocket and stayed there for the time.  
“Jongin,” Minseok exhaled the name like a prayer.  
“Minseok,” his name rolled off the man’s tongue like the answer to his prayer and he pulled himself closer to the male. “You like it?”  
“Like? I might love it. It’s so unbelievably sensual, I’m afraid my heart might burst,” he couldn’t keep his eyes away from the photograph.  
“Minseok, look at me, only me,” the sentence, commanding, broke the trance Minseok was in and he turned to look at him. He already knew he wouldn’t be able to tear his gaze away from Jongin for the rest of the night. The artist was clad in all black, the suit pants giving away a hint of tightness. Minseok was sure that the material would stretch over the roundness of his arse and emphasise his thighs when Jongin would walk. He could already imagine it, picturing in his mind the motion of his long and muscled legs walking casually, his hips lightly swaying from left to right while following the movement, the material hugging his curves at just the right places. He gulped and stopped his train of thoughts before they would stray to a point of no return. It was dangerous territory in such a public place filled with important figures from the industry he was also involved in. Jongin was also wearing a loose, black turtleneck as well as the glasses he’d wear when he worked in his atelier. He looked stunning in this simple outfit, to say the least. “You look stunning, Jongin,” he smiled softly, their eyes meeting again. He had to admit it, he was completely smitten with the older man.  
“You can’t imagine how much I would like to undress you and do the same to you as displayed on the photo,” the artist’s eyes sparkled with some kind of unspoken, feverish desire and longing. His hand travelled down, from Minseok’s cheek, over his Adam’s apple, to one of the top tier buttons of his dress shirt only to swiftly unbutton it, the motion sensual and suggestive. “Better. I want to kiss you so bad right now, but it has to wait until after the vernissage,” Jongin added in a whisper, his voice husky.  
If his eye colour could change depending on his mood, it would change from a soft golden-brown to black in an instant, Minseok mused to himself while turning red.

“Minseok, I want to apologise in advance, you’ll see soon enough why,” Jongin’s tone changed from seductive to nervous, almost apologetic. Checking their surroundings, Jongin pressed a chaste kiss to the young man’s lips and detached himself, playing with Minseok’s fingers for a bit before letting go completely. Minseok was confused about the sudden apology and asked Jongin’s retreating figure back, in return, whispering, “Huh, why?”

“I can’t keep my eyes off you two for a few minutes,” Dr Zhang sighed, approaching Minseok, shaking his head, “We should pick up your friend before she takes off with someone.”  
“I think it’s already too late,” Minseok pointed towards another photograph in front of which Adelpha was standing with a young man, deep in conversation and evidently not about the artwork itself.  
“She’s quick,” Yixing whistled.  
“It’s about time, you have no idea how stressful she can be. Should we collect her and go to the main room?”  
“Oh yes, I love me some good drama,” the older man smiled mischievously.

“Miss Adelpha,” the professor boomed across the little hallway. She visibly tensed as he closed in with quick strides, Minseok hot on his heels.  
“Mr Zhang,” Adelpha swallowed air and coughed, the young man next to her patting her back in concern, looking anything but happy about the interruption.  
The professor, all smiley, curtlely nodded his head towards the stranger and pulled Minseok towards himself, throwing an arm around him. Once he caught up, he exclaimed: “We’re continuing towards the main room since Kai is about to reveal himself.” Having announced their intentions, Yixing pulled the young man along and left Adelpha and the stranger behind. “You shouldn’t stand in the way of young love,” he commented with a wink and Minseok blushed, but he had no idea why.

The opening session was overly conventional and deprived of anything engaging and Minseok yawned from time to time, receiving looks from the people around him. Standing at the far end of the room with Yixing, Jongin appeared next to him at some point, circling his arm around Minseok’s waist out of sight of prying eyes. He expertly whispered some dirty stuff into Minseok’s ear from time to time to distract him since the curator of the exhibition was talking way too much. “... And with these words I’d like to invite Kai on the stage,” the curator concluded. Jongin quickly detached himself from Minseok while people were starting to curiously look around and started clapping.

Striding through the sea of renowned photographers, artists, critics and the press, Jongin oozed with confidence and a godlike aura. People’s murmuring and the shutters of cameras going off were the only things that could be heard. Minseok couldn’t help but sway at his posture and charisma, qualities that had made him fall even more for the older man over time. Even his way of walking was mesmerizing.  
“Thank you for accepting the invitation today, ladies and gentlemen. You might be surprised that I, Kim Jongin, the sculptor, am standing before you. But as I’m already known as Kim Kai, I thought it might be maybe easy to guess who Kai is,” he let his eyes wander among the people before he locked eyes with Minseok, “I’d like to unveil the centrepiece of this exhibition.” His stare only left Minseok for a split second to pull off the piece of cloth hiding a rather small artwork. Once it was revealed, Minseok clasped his hands over his mouth, suppressing the urge to scream. His legs would have given out if it weren’t for Yixing next to him steadying him. “It’s called ‘Meus Amor Aeternus’, ‘My Eternal Love’.” His gaze still didn’t leave Minseok and the look in his eyes softened a bit, a smile rising on his lips. Minseok was about to break down and tears were welling in his eyes.

It was a photo of him, his face. Loose strands of hair were softly framing his face and eyes, one of his arms covering one eye. He was lying down, his eyes reddish from too much crying and alcohol, half-lidded, looking directly into the camera. The moment the photo was captured, his look actually was giving off something sensual. The sunshine partly washing over his face, the shadow of the blinds of the window was clearly visible creating their light-shadow dance. It was screaming fragile, hurt, defeated.

Minseok immediately connected the sounds he had picked up the first morning he spent in Jongin’s apartment. Jongin had taken a photo of him and was now using it. It wasn’t about the fact that he was using his photo without permission but the title itself. It was way before anything serious had happened in their relationship but it was clearly the beginning of it. Yixing still had his arms hooked under his armpits to steady him. “I think we should go outside so that you can calm down, I don’t want the press to catch on to your reaction and I don’t think Jongin would as well,” the older man whispered and ushered Minseok out of the room after a polite smile and quick nod towards the host, whose eyes still followed Minseok until he was out of sight and Jongin had to start answering the questions posed at him.

“Fuck!” Minseok let loose one string of curse after another. He was angrily puffing out the smoke of a cigarette, but he didn’t even know why he had gotten angry in the first place. Yixing stood beside the entrance door, his eyes following the student who was walking up and down furiously,  constantly rubbing his face with his hands.

“I know it’s not my place to pry but according to your reaction, I guess you either didn’t know about the title or the print itself?” Yixing said cautiously, dipping his toes into the water. “Minseok? I have another question; is it you on the photo?”  
“The fucking bastard, what was he even thinking? How dare he play me like that!” Minseok wasn’t even listening but Yixing took that as the answer to his question.  
The guest professor grabbed Minseok by his shoulders and turned him around to face him, his hands on his cheeks. He forced the nervous student to look at him, and calmly said, “Minseok, you should talk to Jongin.” Yixing squeezed the student’s face a few times, forcing him to make funny faces. Minseok, on the other hand, was clearly annoyed and averted his eyes. He wasn’t sure about the reason that was making him so mad; he was actually moved that Jongin used his stolen shot as his centrepiece, but it unnerved him. It could have been the fact that he was exposed in a way, or it could be because he had used the shot without telling him about its existence in the first place, using his face to put it on display without even asking for his permission. The more he was thinking about it, the more confused he was getting. He couldn’t really localise the source of his annoyance. Nonetheless, he replied with a soft ‘okay’.  
Yixing seemed relieved, “Good, then it’s set--” he was interrupted when his phone went off. Scrambling to get it out of his suit pocket, he shortly glanced at the caller ID before answering the call.

“Jongin?” Minseok looked up at the mention of the name, cigarette bud dangling between his slightly parted lips. Smoke was coiling out of his nostrils and lips and his eyes widened. He stopped every movement he was doing for a  second. Yixing felt as if he was looking at a jpg.  
“Yes, yes, he is with me. It’s not my place to say anything but from what I see … well … yes, you should talk to him.” Minseok shuffled closer to him, looking at him. Yixing couldn’t help but pull the student closer to him so that he could listen in on the call.  
“And why are you calling me and not Minseok?”  
_“Well, I don’t have his number, so--”_  
“You two have been, at least for three to four months, probably even longer, whirling around each other and you still haven’t exchanged phone numbers?”  
_“Uh--”_  
“We’re at the main entrance.” Yixing ended the call and smiled fondly while threading his fingers through his own hair, “Take good care of him, will you? I’m off then, see you next week.” Just like this, the man wandered off, whistling lowly with his hands in his pockets as he kept getting farther away from the location.

Left alone, Minseok leaned against the wall and checked his phone, still uneasy. Adelpha had messaged him that he shouldn’t wait for her, meeting his expectations. He knew it would have ended up this way as soon as he saw the two together. He lit another cigarette and observed the people leaving the vernissage. He eavesdropped on a few remarks from the guests and they seemed to be quite impressed with the artist’s work. A few of them were slightly critical and didn’t appreciate the erotic theme that prevailed in most of his works, but the people enjoyed it overall. He had to admit that he was also taken aback by his photos. It was as expected of Jongin; perfection in the skills, feelings conveyed through the works, as well as the raw sensuality conveyed by it. Regardless of his first vernissage as a photographer, it screamed “Kim Kai” at full force. Once again, he was completely head over heels for his works. It was a shame he didn’t have the chance to admire his photos a little longer, at least this evening. He might come back later in the week to look at everything without the brimming caused by the vernissage.

Finally, everything seemed to clear out when Minseok was on his third cigarette. He was extremely agitated, he wasn’t prepared for such a form of confession. The title of the piece took him by surprise, especially when he recognized his face. Once again, Jongin had outpaced him and confessed his feelings first before he could even do it. He had practiced so many times since the museum and wanted to be the first since he had a feeling he was being too passive in the relationship. He had made up his mind ever since their intimate exchange at the museum that he would voice out his feelings, that were only blossoming every day, as soon as he would get the courage to do it. It seemed like Jongin was getting impatient.

Thinking about Jongin’s centerpiece, Minseok was starting to calm down. He couldn’t keep on feeling so angered for a reason he wasn’t even fully aware of. As the minutes passed by, he was getting overwhelmed by another emotion, joy. Joy and gratitude. After everything that the older man had done for him, every word he had said, every loving gesture he had directed at the student, he could only be happy about his confession, his feelings that were officially reciprocated. Jongin obviously started having such feelings for him way before Minseok fell for him since the photo was taken when they had their first real and serious interaction. In the end, it didn’t matter if Jongin had used his picture without telling him about it; the surprise had had quite an effect and it was absolutely heartwarming. Before he knew it, a smile had already softened his features and he pushed away all his previous negative emotions.

Suddenly, a very familiar velvet voice and a foreign one interrupted his thought process.  “Mr Kim, you agreed to do an interview with our magazine, but why won’t you tell us who your model is?”  
“Because he isn’t just a mere model,” Jongin’s voice was soft and swelling with pride, as he and a journalist rounded the corner, the artist accompanying him outside. Once Minseok heard the foreign voice, he hung his head low. “Please contact the curator for further information regarding the interview. Good night.”

Minseok waited a bit longer before stepping out of the shadows, “Jongin?” He breathed out the name.  
The called man turned around and the tension left his body in an instant. A soft smile returned to his lips and his eyes faintly crinkled. Minseok disposed of his cigarette after taking a last drag on it, eyes focused on the subject of his contradicting yet pure emotions. Jongin took less than three steps before reaching Minseok, cupping his cheek as soon as they were close to each other and intertwining their hands. Pulling them up to his chest, he placed them over his heart, “Minseok. I’m sorry for not asking permission and for taking you by surprise, I--”  
Jongin was silenced by a pair of lips meeting his own. Stunned, speechless, he reciprocated the action. After a few seconds, Minseok retreated a little bit and said,  “Jongin, you’re rambling.” He felt the young man smile against his lips, “You beat me to the confession, to be honest, but at least let me say it out loud first.” Jongin bumped their foreheads together and looked down at his soon-to-be-boyfriend. He hummed in affirmation. “I’m bad with words, so please forgive me. I love you more than I love wine, so will you let me be the grape to your wine?” Jongin didn’t let Minseok utter any other word and just pressed his lips once again on Minseok’s as a response. The kisses turned less tender as he moulded his lips against Minseok’s in a much rougher fashion, coaxing them open with his tongue, re-entering the cavern once again. Burying his fingers in the young man’s hair, he pulled his head backwards and angled it more, deepening the kiss even further and increasing the urgency of it on the same occasion. He twirled his tongue around Minseok’s and his other hand pushed Minseok further to him, also pressing him against the wall. Once they broke off their kiss, they were left catching their breaths. Minseok’s face was flushed deep red, “I let you be the grape to my wine, Minseok. I love you too, you can’t imagine the intensity of the feelings I have for you. But we should go inside before someone sees us.” He pecked Minseok’s lips a few times over and over again before pulling him inside and locking the door behind him.

“Jongin, maybe we should exchange phone numbers, don’t you--” “Minseok,” spoke Jongin at the same time, “I’d like to roam the gallery with you but--” Jongin stopped and turned around before facing the student. The young man’s breath hitched in his throat. He vaguely remembered the look he had received from the artist at his own exhibition, but this one was darker, more dangerous, more - lustful. Minseok scanned their surroundings and realised that they weren’t in a part of the exhibition halls. Stepping up to Jongin, he pulled down the older man’s face, removed his glasses so they wouldn’t be in the way, and skipped the pecks right ahead, angling his head in a way the artist had more access to discover his cavern once more. Jongin readily accepted the offer and coaxed his lips open by biting on his lower lip and diving right in when he had the chance, his hold steady on his lover’s hips. He sucked on Minseok’s tongue lecherously, making the student struggle to swallow his moan. The kiss was heated, rushed, overflowing with emotion and outside the realms of coordination. Their teeth clacked a few times and Jongin harshly grabbed at Minseok’s hair, locking his face in place. They detached their lips to catch their breaths. Just a few inches away from each other’s faces, they looked at each other, neither of the two uttering a single word, just staring.

Jongin’s hand loosened its grip on his hair and travelled along his face, “You’re so beautiful, Minseok.” While his other hand moved next to the other’s, he started rolling up the sleeves of his turtleneck, his eyes not once leaving Minseok’s face. The younger shivered under the gaze and averted his eyes. “If you don’t look at me, I won’t go easy on you,” Jongin threatened seductively and bent his body further into Minseok, who was trapped by the arm on the other side. Jongin’s unoccupied hand travelled along his chest before starting to unbutton the dress shirt, letting his cold fingertips scratch over his exposed skin. Minseok gasped and stepped back, but he was already at the wall and Jongin had him exactly where he wanted him to be. Exerting pressure on his chest, he pressed Minseok down to the ground, “Jongin, what--”

Jongin on the other hand, following the motion, sat between Minseok’s spread legs. He loosely wrapped his hand around Minseok’s throat and kissed him, more softly now. The student let himself be guided, kissing him back as tenderly. Pulling away, the artist looked down on Minseok hungrily, who was in a sitting position on the ground. Grabbing his legs harshly, he wrapped them around his waist and pulled the object of his desire closer to him. Running his hands over the exposed skin, he let his lips travel down Minseok’s torso, biting down on the collarbones, sucking the nipples and twirling them between his fingers. Minseok lustfully arched his back towards him, in bliss, soft moans and sighs escaping his lips, and he fisted his hands into Jongin’s shirt desperately.

“Jongin, we’re alone, aren’t we?” he asked, his voice choking with the sensation of Jongin between his legs, pressing against his growing erection. The sexual arousal between them was already noticeable. The older man picked up on it, his hands leaving his torso, one of them grabbing his arse and pulling him even closer, the bulge in Jongin’s pants visible. Minseok gulped at the sight, completely ravaged by his desires. Instead of responding to the question, the professor unbuckled Minseok’s belt and pants only to slide his hand between the pants and the briefs. Minseok’s cock twitched under the foreign sensation and he inhaled sharply, throwing his head back. Jongin started palming him, eliciting moans to spill over Minseok’s lips in a profound matter, his own dick starting to hurt from its constriction. Minseok’s briefs started to turn wet from the precum and Jongin was in absolute ecstasy with a moaning Minseok, who was shuddering under every of his touches and was longing for more. It was like the dim light always had a magical effect on Minseok; he looked like he was glowing, more fragile, more lustful. Sweat started to appear on his forehead as well as his chest and Jongin kissed him once again, letting go of Minseok’s cock and started to unbutton his own pants, his self-control far gone. Minseok was whining in response, since the voluptuous feeling was taken away from him, “Jongin, for fuck’s sake, please, take me, make me finally yours.” He was afraid to open his eyes; to see Jongin.  
“Look at me, now!” It wasn’t a question, it was a command, and Minseok obeyed. Prying his eyes open, he looked up to Jongin, whose hair was falling in messy strands over his face, his arms caging him and eyes dark, a sinister smile dancing around his lips and eyes. Grabbing his chin forcefully, Jongin rested his thumb on his lower lip, “Do you have condoms on you?” Minseok denied the question and Jongin’s smile grew wider. Dragging down Minseok’s lower lip with his thumb, he commanded, “Then suck.” Minseok obeyed and let his tongue twirl around Jongin’s long fingers, coating them with his saliva, sucking hard on them, curling his tongue around it. “Good boy.” His cock twitched at the compliment.

Jongin, on the other hand, got his cock out of its enclosure, which was throbbing with unspoken, dark, sexual desire he didn’t know he possessed in the first place. Minseok’s lips were swollen from all the kissing, sucking and biting. Still getting his thumb sucked, the professor palmed with his other hand once again Minseok's dick harshly and the student moaned rather loudly, which only increased the older man’s craving, “You like it?” Retreating his digits from Minseok’s hot cavern and without waiting for an answer, he took Minseok’s legs to one side, getting rid of the student’s shoes and pulled down Minseok’s pants and briefs completely. Minseok’s cock shivered from the sudden cold and so did Minseok, his nipples perking up. He spread Minseok’s legs again, placing one of them on his shoulders and positioned himself between his lover’s legs. His cock trembled with unreleased anger, anticipation, and dripped with precum. “You want me that much?” he grabbed the younger one’s member, “Jongin, please,” Minseok choked out. “I love it when you’re needy,” Jongin pulled him once again closer and Minseok’s eyes shot open when he felt something different pressed against his cock.  
Looking down, he saw Jongin’s dick and his, both circled by Jongin’s larger hand. He felt a hand on his back, pushing him further into the older man’s chest who used the moment to push both of them together. He spread Minseok’s saliva in circular motions over the tip of Minseok’s dick, who threw his hands over Jongin’s neck to stabilise himself, his heavy breathing now directly pouring into the older man’s ears as he got closer to him by the action. It had been ages since he had been touched by another man and he hadn’t realised how much he missed the sensation of being touched or fucked considerably harshly, to be manhandled.

Jongin’s breathing pattern was coming in short and hot intervals against his neck. He ran his tongue against the student’s sweaty neck and sucked on Minseok’s earlobe, who buckled his hips into Jongin’s warm calloused hand in response, moaning shamelessly in the process. Jongin was stroking their dicks in a slightly uneven pattern, a sign that he was extremely riled up himself with the marvellous sensation. While peppering kisses all over Minseok’s face, his other hand travelled along his spine, swiftly dipping in and massaging his ass. “Jongin,” Minseok’s voice sounded once again like a prayer. He locked his arms around the older man’s neck and Jongin answered his prayer with a deep, slow kiss contrary to his swift motions of jerking them off. Putting his fingers once again between Minseok’s lips, the student wetted them with his saliva. Jongin’s hand went back to his arse and the older man was circling a wet finger around his entrance and probing at it from time to time. Minseok buckled a few times into Jongin’s hand, who still had his own enclosed on their dicks as well as one of his fingers slowly entering his hole, the sensation delicious and enchanting. He slowly made his way in, letting the finger explore the cavern, sliding in and out, before Jongin added a second finger, discovering and spreading the subject of his lustful desires. “Jongin, you’re torturing me,” Minseok moaned loudly in between his words.

“If I could, I would have fucked you before all the people earlier, stark naked, and you would have sucked my cock while having to prepare yourself for me. I would have aligned myself with your hole, slowly sliding in, stretching you further, and your ass would have been sucking my dick in. Your voice is heaven to me,” Jongin whispered into his ear. Minseok let himself be immersed into his lover’s naughty and somewhat cringy dirty talk and imagined himself being filled by Jongin’s cock to the brim, getting his brains fucked out by the older man, being ordered, and he lost it. “Fuck!” he came in Jongin’s hand, who let him ride out his high in it while slowly massaging his hole. Catching his breath, Minseok looked at Jongin who was smirking at him, teeth showing, “I’m not ready yet if you wouldn’t mind?” Holding his hand out, it was dripping with Minseok’s sperm. The embarrassment hit in and the blush rose on his cheeks, “Lick it off.” He gulped but obeyed anyway. The hand on his ass was pulled back and he whined at the loss of warmth, “Next time.” Jongin jerked himself off while Minseok was sucking his hand clean, “I love you, Minseok,” Jongin breathed out when he finally came into his hand, eyes locking with Minseok’s, who felt mesmerised by the look the man he loved gave him, “I love you too, Jongin.”  
Using his hands, Minseok cupped the side of Jongin’s face and wiped away a few stray trails of sweat. “Your or my place?” the student asked. “You can sleep at my place, I have my car here,” Jongin wiped his hands without a care in the world on his turtleneck and buttoned his pants back up. Minseok, on unsteady legs, pulled up his underwear and pants, trying to slip back into his shoes, struggling to button up his dress shirt with shaky hands until the artist helped him, the two of them getting up while Jongin let his hands roam on the student’s ass.

Pulling the younger man close to him, Jongin hugged him and pecked his lips a few times, before deepening the kiss, “Thank you for loving me, Carrara.” Minseok blushed and hid his face in the crook of Jongin’s neck. He still couldn’t believe that Jongin was calling him by the name a town, but maybe it was something natural, to be expected, since he was a sculptor, “One day I’ll take you to see this place, my love. Thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself to be worthy of you.”  
Jongin intertwined their hands and left a kiss on Minseok’s knuckles, smiling lovingly at him, “Let’s go home,” and Minseok blushed once again.

ㅤㅤㅤ__________  
_The next day._

The newspaper headline read:  
  
**Photographer Kai to be revealed as world-renowned sculptor Kim Jongin**  
  
Next to it was a smaller article titled: “Does Kim Jongin have a secret lover?”. A photo of the exhibition’s centrepiece was printed. The article read as follows:  
_“Kai’s centrepiece revealed a young man’s face, but it had a vast difference to the other works of the artist. No actual movement was indicated like the other, usually partly blurry photographs. The work is titled «Meus Amor Aeternus», the translation being ‘My Eternal Love’, which sparked the topic of Mr Kim being romantically involved with someone. Mr Kim’s only words when asked about it were: ‘No comment. That’s only for me and the person concerned to know.’ Sorry, Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems like Mr Kim, the long-lasting bachelor, who is also known for his player reputation, is no longer available on the market and may have settled down now. It is unclear who the depicted man is, but he is rumoured to have attended the vernissage as well.”_

Under it, a heavily underexposed shot of Jongin kissing Minseok, who stood with his back to the photographer.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᵃʳᶜᵃᵈᵉ ᶠᶦʳᵉ ⁻ ᶜʰᵉᵐᶦˢᵗʳʸ](https://youtu.be/ru4T3m48o5Y)  
[ᵗʳᵒʸᵉ ˢᶦᵛᵃⁿ ⁻ ᵐʸ ᵐʸ ᵐʸᵎ](https://youtu.be/k5TqNsr6YuQ)


	12. Académie d'homme nu, allongé, vu d'en haut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ａｃａｄéｍｉｅ ｄ＇ｈｏｍｍｅ ｎｕ， ａｌｌｏｎｇé， ｖｕ ｄ＇ｅｎ ｈａｕｔ »  
> eng.: ‹ acamedy of a naked man, lying down, seen from above ›  
> Éｔｉｅｎｎｅ Ｍａｕｒｉｃｅ Ｆａｌｃｏｎｅｔ

It has been a few weeks since the confession and since Minseok moved ateliers. His new one already looked more like a human being was living in it, but it was still partially empty, leaving a wide open space in the middle of the room. Minseok was blasting his ‘And So I Watch You From Afar’ collection on shuffle, letting the music guide him and moving to the rhythm. When ‘All I Need Is Space’ came on, he halted his movement and closed his eyes, giving more consciousness to his hearing and his body. With the sudden tempo change from ‘Spiderbox’ to that song, it wasn’t always easy to dance along, since the music wasn’t made to dance to it.  
The first half of the song with its upbuilding tension, from fast and loud back to only guitar and percussions, got him in a trance-like state, a sensation that was even more enhanced with his eyes closed. The echoing of the guitars and the atmospheric synth in the background added so much to the title and Minseok’s current mindset.

He had his arms outstretched and danced without a care in the world; it was only him and the music. He crossed his feet to build up momentum for some kind of spin and adjusted his arm movements to the rhythm and let his body slowly spin around. The upbuilding percussions introducing the ending of the first half made him halt his movements and hold them. One hand above his chest, arm angled while the other arm was outstretched to his side and his palm facing upwards, his head tilted towards that direction, his legs slightly apart.

Without Minseok being aware of it, a pair of eyes were watching him with curiosity. With the initial plan of doing a surprise attack long forgotten, Jongin closed the door quietly behind him after entering the room and leaned against the wall, his eyes never leaving his lover who was in his own world, dancing quietly away to the sound of the music blasting at full volume. Jongin tried to keep his chuckle inaudible since he enjoyed the sight of his boyfriend dancing awkwardly way too much, but he felt a warmth spreading in his chest, the sight so endearing he couldn’t help himself but fall in love all over again. The way Minseok danced without any sense of rhythm made him shake his head. Seems like he could teach him one or two things about dancing. He tried to tear his gaze away, wanting to see the atelier in the first place, but he was unable to, Minseok’s presence too strong and the bond they shared, which grew even stronger each day, made him powerless in front of the man he loved. Pushing himself off the wall, his leather shoes shuffled softly and without a sound over the floor until he reached Minseok, Jongin’s eyes never leaving his sight.

With the beginning of the second half, the drumsticks hitting the side of the snare, another hand found its way to Minseok’s one, intertwining them. An arm coiled itself around his waist and his chest was pressed to a foreign yet familiar one, but Minseok didn’t let it influence the rhythm he was building up. Lips were pressed against his brow before the arms exerted pressure. He was pushed further into the chest and the other arm angled Minseok’s outstretched one, pulling it closer. Feeling a shoe nudging his naked feet, his hand on the chest found its way to the intruder’s upper arm and he let himself be pressed backwards, one step at a time, slowly spinning around.

Minseok leaned his head on the wide and muscled chest with his eyes still closed and let himself be guided clumsily since he wasn’t wearing his shoes, unlike his partner.  
“Carrara,” the voice breathed into his hair before Minseok lifted his head and received a chaste kiss on the lips.  
“Jongin,” he smiled before opening his eyes.

They continued their clumsy dance until the song ended, the two men smiling tenderly and Minseok melting more against Jongin’s chest while hiding his face in the crook of his neck before kissing it chastely, the other man very receptive to his affection. When they came to a halt, their eyes finally met. Jongin smiled and looked at him with a hint of surprise and amusement.  
“How do you manage to dance to it?”  
‘7 Billion’ came on and Minseok set both of them back in motion. He smiled lovingly, “It’s working, isn’t it?”  
“You sure aren’t very fluid, but it is, and I can’t really understand how. At least this one is easier to dance to.”  
Minseok hummed and they continued to dance less awkwardly, Jongin guiding him until the song came to an end. The couple untangled their bodies and Minseok reluctantly walked away to lower the volume of the speakers. Meanwhile, Jongin scanned the atelier and whistled in appreciation, the sound echoing in the wide room. “This is a pretty good studio you got here. Way better than the one at university.” Minseok faced Jongin and smiled, “I can’t wait to start working on my pieces here. I was planning to do that today, but it seems like a certain someone had other plans in mind.” He walked closer towards the artist and stopped only a few inches away from him, Jongin racing his hands through his hair and caressing his scalp. With the music playing softly, barely audible, their breathing could be heard more clearly, enhanced by the natural echo of the atelier, and making them feel even closer.

“After hearing you talk so much about it, I had to take a look myself. It’s even better than I thought.” Minseok closed his eyes and leaned to the touch, almost purring in delight. “The end of term is approaching quite fast. I can’t wait for it to be over; then I can I have you all for myself without any restraint.” Minseok chuckled, “As if it would really make a difference, you are already monopolizing me. Des called me the other day and complained about you always giving me car rides. I can barely catch his buses lately. And I won’t have the occasion to do that anytime soon.”

Minseok was right, with his thesis finished to the point that Dr Zhang was correcting some things, which was incredibly kind of him after having offered so much help already, and his final statement still missing, he would be able to print the different versions of the thesis shortly. After notifying his boss about him resigning from his old job in the store, only a few weeks were remaining before he would officially quit, hence the reason why he wouldn’t need to catch Des’ busses outside of town anymore. This way, he wouldn’t need to travel farther since he would stay in the city. It was much more convenient. He was still volunteering on Mondays at the school, helping the children he grew attached to, to the point of also spending his Thursdays there so he could keep himself busy while doing some good deeds. And to his relief, he didn’t have to think too much about his future job since a museum he already worked at in one of his countless internships voiced their interest in him as a future colleague, but he was still pondering over his opportunities. It was a fabulous job offer since he always wanted to work in the old residence of the former duke who turned it into the museum it is today with its majority of artworks he bought.

Jongin hummed in understanding and embraced Minseok more tightly in his arms, circling his waist while kissing the top of his hair and letting his lips linger there. “I haven’t had the occasion to meet him yet,” he murmured into the mop of short and wavy hair he loved. Minseok comfortably rested his head on Jongin’s shoulder, inhaling his sweet scent and molding his body against his. “I will introduce him to you sometime. I am sure you will like him.”  
They spent the next minutes in silence, simply cherishing each other’s presence in their peaceful environment. Minseok used to be a little bit worried about his future but knowing that he was under great care and that so many great opportunities were offered to him, he couldn’t be happier. And Jongin sure was making it easier for him to feel at ease.

             __________  
_An hour later._

“Jongin, you really are a distraction. I can’t focus at all!”  
Minseok was sitting in front of his easel, staring at the blank canvas resting on it for what felt like an eternity. He felt inspired all morning but now he was stuck, mostly because a man called Kim Jongin, or rather Kim Kai since he was into his professional mode, kept walking around the atelier, looking carefully at some of his pieces that were displayed. He knew that he was mentally analysing his works and it unnerved him. After all, he asked him about his thoughts on his pieces. But how could he focus on sketching when the artist he admired the most was scrutinizing his own work, especially since he hadn’t said a single word since Minseok asked him about it?

When he didn’t get any response from the man troubling him, he detached his gaze from his blank canvas and spotted Jongin absorbed in one of his pieces. His eyes were flickering from one point to the other, his whole body unmoving. The sight made Minseok even more nervous.  
“Jongin, if you continue like this I will have to kick you out.”  
This seemed to have shaken the older out of his daze and he abruptly tore his gaze away from the piece to look at Minseok. “What am I even doing wrong? I thought you wanted an opinion on your artworks.” He stepped closer to him and Minseok averted his eyes, staring back again at the canvas that seemed to be condemned to emptiness.  
“Well, you haven’t uttered a single word since you started looking around. And … You’re making me nervous. I can’t even think straight, I have no inspiration. My mind is completely blank.”  
“I can help you.” Jongin was now behind Minseok, racing his hands along his hips and taking advantage of the fact that Minseok couldn’t see him. His strong and calloused hands, undoubtedly ones of a sculptor, which was sexy as hell in the first place -Minseok mentally scolded himself for thinking that- traveled under his shirt while his lips found his jaw, pecking it lightly before trapping the skin on that spot in between his teeth, sucking and licking gently. Minseok squirmed and shivered at the touch before taking Jongin’s hands in his and detaching them from his body before he would give in to the temptation, turning around on his chair to face him.  
“Stay away from me, you Demon!”  
“I think you’re mistaking Demon with God, my love.”  
Jongin winked before circling the easel and walking farther away in the student’s peripheral vision, deep in his thoughts. Minseok followed him with his gaze while trying to regulate his breathing, the sensation of Jongin’s fingers still ghosting on his skin.

“How about I describe an image, a specific idea I can imagine in my mind right now, and you try to sketch it?”  
Minseok raised an eyebrow, interested. It was a good idea, actually.  
“What if it turns out being different from what you have pictured in your mind?”  
“Just follow my directions and let it guide you. You’ll see.”  
“Don’t make me draw some weird kinky shit like a threesome or some of your fantasies I’d rather not know about.”  
Jongin chuckled wholeheartedly while pacing from right to left in the room, each step echoing over the silence upon the both of them, Minseok’s playlist having reached its end.  
“I am sure you’ll love some of my fantasies. I can already imagine you-”  
“Jongin!” Minseok blushed, thankful that the easel was currently hiding him from the other man, the latter having stopped in a blind spot before pacing around again. Jongin only laughed sweetly, the sound making butterflies flutter in his stomach. The man really had a strong hold on him. It was almost scary.  
“Seriously, do you want to try my idea? I have a specific and detailed image in my mind right now.”  
Minseok thought about it for a few seconds as he observed Jongin who was deep in his thoughts, his expression as serious as could be even though he had just teased him. It was an appealing challenge. “Alright, let’s try it out.”

Minseok sat as comfortably as he could on his chair, straightening his posture and positioning himself at the right angle so he could easily sketch based on Jongin’s directions. He made sure his pencil was sharpened to his liking after setting by his side any other supplies he would need in the process and announced that he was ready. Jongin, still silently pacing in the atelier in front of him, started to give a few directions after a moment. Minseok followed his words, his hands guided solely by the instructions, sketching so he would illustrate as properly as possible the image Jongin had in mind.

It started smoothly with a few rough outlines of what was clearly a human body after a few strokes. It was a man’s mostly upper body who was apparently kneeling, back exposed to the beholder and his head peeking over his left shoulder. It didn’t surprise him, coming from the artist whose forte was living beings, humans in all their forms and emotions. Jongin continued to give some basic directions for a while, adding a few pieces of clothes, or rather a single one. Jongin described it, not naming any specific names for it, but Minseok still followed his directions; the cloth barely covering the man and stopping mid-thigh, was a thin layer of silk, with barely any patterns, just a material that Minseok captured as being something along the lines of a kimono and according to the description of the material, quite sheer, almost see-through. Minseok was deeply immersed into the sketching, enjoying the direction it was heading to and excitement was filling his senses at progressively solving the mystery of what the artist had in mind, giving life to Jongin’s work of art with his own hands. He listened closely to his voice, which was as velvety as usual and very pleasant to listen to. He could feel it resonate in his body since his voice was loud and clear, filling the silence of the room, creating all sorts of tingles in his stomach.

Jongin even added a few directions about the legs the man was kneeling on being spread, the outline of the side and the back of his thighs more defined and exposed, along with his upper back. Jongin also wanted him to draw foreign hands pulling on the sides of the robe like someone was undressing the man he was drawing. Just the hands, nothing more. That was, to some extent, apparent from the way he described the folds of the cloth being puffed around the crook of the one elbow that was visible and the man Minseok was drawing had his hands nowhere near the billowing of the fabric. The stranger’s hands were clearly ones of a man; strong, calloused and big. The grip on the cloth was soft yet confident, almost dominant. While closely paying attention to Jongin’s voice, saying some specific adjectives to describe the hands’ features, Minseok felt the temperature in his body rise, going from comfortable to a little bit too hot for his liking. He imagined Jongin’s hands while sketching, seeing his knuckles clearly in his mind, the sensation and texture of the fingertips whenever he touched him in all sorts of places, how he would sometimes tease his weak spot behind his ears, or slide down from his neck to his chest, going lower and reaching--  
Minseok coughed, feeling his lower region starting to become rather active, much more than it should be, while Jongin was still giving directions after shortly glancing at him while he was in his coughing fit. He hoped he didn’t catch his inner freaking out session and shook his head before focusing back on his task after catching his breath. This was starting to be harder than he had thought it would be.

As Jongin continued to describe the clothing while Minseok was trying his hardest not to lose his focus again, he started to change a little bit the way the kimono, or rather the robe reminding of the japanese traditional clothing, was falling from the man’s body. Minseok erased the hands and some parts of the piece of cloth in the left area he had previously sketched with curiosity, almost regretful to remove it after having put so much effort into the details, wondering what the artist had in mind. He followed Jongin’s directions and sketched the stranger’s right hand on the upper right arm where the cloth was folded the most at the elbow area, giving it the same features and details that he had done with the previous drawing. The kimono was not just exposing his shoulder on that side; it was pooling down towards the ground on the opposite side and almost exposing the entirety of the back, the sleeve that was falling leaving the man’s left arm bare as well. The balance was uneven, the model’s right backside almost covered while the left one was barely hidden by the thin piece of cloth. Jongin described the stranger’s left hand, resting on the man’s hip, even pulling the kimono at the same time with his firm grip on the skin, which was also revealed.

Minseok stopped what he was doing, raising a hand and waving it, signalling Jongin to stop for a second and he halted the tip of his pencil over the part he just sketched, waving the pencil over it in circular motions, back and forth and in every direction possible like he was trying to figure something out. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, chewing on the end of his pencil. Raising his eyes, he was met with Jongin’s who grinned smugly at him, hands jammed into his pockets and bobbing back and forth on the heels of his shoes. “No underwear?” He had only noticed at that moment that the hand and the robe he had just finished sketching were not only exposing the model’s hip, but also the back of his left thigh and a glimpse of his left buttcheek. “Nope, naked like the day he was born.”  
“Why isn’t that surprising to me at all?” Minseok asked out loud, but more to himself, and Jongin regarded him only with a chuckle. But the idea of the nakedness paired with the material of the kimono robe was stuck with Minseok and he wondered where Jongin was going with it. A naked man, in a light kimono, in such a posture? He liked it way too much while he was starting to vividly imagine it, continuing the sketching, refining some areas while Jongin was clearly thinking of what to say next.

Minseok noticed at some point that the robe was not looking like a man’s one, but rather like a woman’s, tailored for a woman’s fit, the waist and shoulders more narrow in width. His breath hitched at that, his body temperature not dropping even the slightest. He even wondered if it was a mistake from his part and glanced at the man walking around in front of him, unbothered, but it was deliberately what Jongin wanted. He could feel it; there was no mistaking it. From the way the material was described with even more precision, soft and delicate, and the way the folds formed as the material was pulled down, exposing the shoulder blades and the waist as well as a bit of the strong thigh, one side more exposed than the other, was feminine. A man wearing female clothes naturally. It was definitely one of Jongin’s weird kinks, and he found himself secretly enjoying it.  
Minseok’s thoughts strayed again while he was sketching and he wondered how the robe would feel on his skin since he could almost imagine the feel of it on his own naked skin and also considering  that Jongin currently set the focus on the clothes rather than the face. The idea of the material being sheer was also a nice addition, giving off the feeling of being almost naked even if covered by cloth. Jongin’s velvet voice wasn’t helping either. It was weird how the image of him wearing it was appealing to him and he wondered in which ways Jongin’s taste in art already affected him. He shifted in discomfort on his stool and changed his posture a bit in an attempt to calm his heart rate that was too fast to be healthy, sweat also starting to accumulate on his hands, making it harder to keep his hold on the pencil steady.

He regained his focus back, or at least tried to, when Jongin started to describe the man’s facial features more. He started with the shape of the eyes, the nose and mouth following. The man portrayed was peeking over his left shoulder, the most exposed side, so only one eye was fully seen, as well as the shape of his nose and lips. Before going for more details on that part, Jongin gave indications about the hair. It was longer than the usual men's haircuts, the strands softly flowing over his shoulders, almost like water, in soft waves. Minseok then accentuated the waves of the man’s hair, inspired by the movement and the fluidity of water, a sensation coming through Jongin’s speech and travelling through his own body. It was evoking little whirlpools, mixing with the steady current of water Minseok could even hear and feel.  
Getting inspired by Jongin’s soft voice that was getting deeper with each word, and having too much effect on him -thank god he was sitting or else his knees would have given out- he added a few strands flowing in front of his face, gently framing his nose over the bridge and his slightly opened lips. Jongin continued to give more details about the facial expression, the parted lips a little bit wet, resonating with the feeling of the water that lulled him in, and a blush colouring the exposed cheek of the man. The man’s eyes were also very expressive, inviting and even submissive. The expression had a strange and captivating erotic spark to it.

Suddenly, Minseok stopped midway with his pencil in hand as he was about to finish sketching the eyes, the tip of the pencil never coming in contact with the material he was sketching on. He looked over the painting, analysing it, and he could feel his body starting to sweat a little bit more in realisation. He could hear the sound of his heart beating fast, only seeing now how incredibly enticing, suggestive and sensual that not only the eyes were, but the whole drawing itself; from the position of the spread legs to the naked skin and the barely covered right side, which only accentuated the attractive sensuality of the man, the very thin layer of clothes, women’s wear at that, and the curls of the hair evoking the water, reflected into the wetness of the lips as well as the sensuous eyes. Only now he realised who the man portrayed was after scrutinizing the piece. There was no mistaking it. No wonder why he was feeling so hot and bothered.  
“Minseok, I forgot to mention that the man has a scar at this point,” suddenly Jongin stood behind him, the voice oh-so-deep and raspy and he pressed a finger between his shoulder blades, halfway down, and dragged the finger down with some strength over the place his own scar is located, “About this long.” Minseok’s breath hitched and he pulled his legs together, the moment he realised he had gotten, somewhere along the way, an erection.

“Tell me, Minseok, is my voice alone enough to do that to you?” Minseok couldn’t see Jongin, but he could vividly imagine his expression. Everything in him screamed to turn around, to face the man behind him, but he was unable to. He felt Jongin’s hand travel up his spine, one finger at a time and he stepped closer up to him, making Minseok realise that he wasn’t the only one affected by the intimate description. Jongin leaned over him, taking the pencil from his hold, and added the scar on the sketch himself. “Minseok, do you have an idea what the foreign man is doing to the man you have drawn?” he asked in a whisper, so lowly and sensually it made Minseok tremble from the voice alone.  
“Jongin, you made me draw myself,” was the only thing Minseok could choke out before he felt Jongin’s breath ghosting over the exposed skin of his neck. Jongin put the pencil on the easel and his now unoccupied hand came to rest on Minseok’s chest before grabbing the chin, tilting his face up to face him. He leaned down and left a series of kisses along the jaw before pressing his lips to Minseok’s. The feeling of being kissed upside down was unsurprisingly weird, but with Jongin’s fingers at his Adam’s apple and slowly creeping towards the neckline of his shirt, dipping under the material, he couldn’t care less, the moment too intimate to be bothered about anything else. He tilted his face to the other side and Jongin took the chance and ran his tongue along the skin, embracing the skin on the collarbone with his lips, sucking on it. Minseok let out a shaky breath, his growing bulge starting to be painful against his clothes. A moment too late, Minseok realised that Jongin’s other hand was already at the waistband of his sweatpants and dipped in, stroking his still growing erection through the cloth of the briefs in a rough fashion, making him moan softly when a violent shudder crept down his spine.

He felt Jongin smile against his collarbone before the other spoke up: “You should model for me some time.” Minseok shivered at the sound of his voice as well as his hot breath tickling his skin. He placed a chaste kiss on Minseok’s jaw, who looked away in return, the red deepening. Jongin’s face came into view and Minseok whispered, “I don’t think I’d be suitable as a model.”  
Caressing the younger man’s chin, the other man replied “Don’t degrade yourself, you’re beautiful,” retreating his hands, he took Minseok’s hands into his and intertwined their fingers. Pulling them up, he kissed his knuckles, “And everyone saying otherwise is lying and intimidated by your beauty. And the sketch just proved enough that you’re the perfect muse for me and only me.” He smiled at him and turned him around on his swivel stool before pulling him for another kiss on the lips.  
“Jongin-,” Minseok objected, but was silenced by another series of short kisses that slowly deepened. His hands wandered over Jongin’s chest who hooked his arms around Minseok’s neck. Jongin raised his leg between Minseok’s legs on the stool and pressed with his kneecap against his bulge, putting just enough pressure so it wasn’t uncomfortable, but still sufficient to create some pressure to rile Minseok up who was already melting in the embrace. “Jongin--” “Hush, my love.” He carded his fingers through Minseok’s hair and pulled his shirt up, flicking his thumb over Minseok’s nipples while he nibbled on his earlobe and pulled at it. Minseok let out a groan and Jongin retrieved his leg, just to settle down on Minseok’s lap, brushing his own bulge against Minseok’s. It made him groan in delight and he felt his boyfriend’s tight hold around his neck before he let go of it and enclosed his arms around his back. Jongin pulled his head back and looked down on Minseok, who looked up to him in return, a lovely frown on his face. He cutely puckered his lips and Jongin claimed them again. Minseok’s hands travelled down to his butt and he pulled him closer, groping them in the process. Jongin was still surprised about how strong Minseok actually was and rolled his hips against him. Their open-mouthed kiss was broken by Minseok experimentally sliding his tongue into Jongin’s cavern. They fought for dominance, but both knew that Minseok would give in.

Suddenly, a phone obnoxiously blared, indicating an incoming call, which made Jongin jump in surprise. Minseok saw Jongin’s face falling and he furrowed a brow, looking distressed, “That can’t be true,” he hissed out, before slumping back down on Minseok’s lap and knocking the air out of the young man’s lungs. Straddling his boyfriend, Jongin blindly grabbed his phone from his back pocket and answered it. Minseok threaded his fingers through the older man’s hair, softly humming to distract himself from being possibly cockblocked. Jongin snuggled deeper into Minseok and wrapped his arm around his neck to stabilise himself, “--I. Yes, yes. I-, No. No. Yes.” Minseok, in return, enclosed his arms behind Jongin who pulled an adorable pout and furrowed his brows even more while inspecting Minseok’s face in close range. Minseok tried to suppress a giggle but wasn’t successful. “No, I’m not alone. I’m with the mysterious man everyone is talking about. I-, alright, I’m coming over. Yea- fucking bastard hung up on me.”

“Who was it?” Minseok was able to sneak a peek on the Caller ID and it actually said “fucking bastard.”  
“The fucking bastard of an agent. I said I won’t be available this weekend. Sorry, my love, I have to leave you, I don’t wanna-” Jongin was pouting and that didn’t happen that often. But around Minseok, he let his walls down and seemed to be more in Minseok’s age range than Minseok himself. Stretching himself, Jongin pulled his legs up and wrapped them around Minseok’s waist and whined again, “Don’t wanna get up.”  
“Act your age, Nini--” Minseok was silently afraid either the stool would break or both of them would tumble off the chair if he wouldn’t lean back enough to evenly contribute the whole added weight on the stool.  
“You called me Nini,” Jongin’s face was centimetres away from the younger ones face and smiled dumbly. Cautiously getting up, he pulled Minseok with him and held him close to himself, “I’m seriously sorry, Minseok, I’ll make it up to you.”

Jongin was pissed, it took him and Minseok an additional twenty minutes to leave their fingers off each other before Minseok threatened him to not visit him and cook for him the next time they wanted to meet up and Jongin made sure that Minseok promised to be his muse from now on.  
But he was still pissed nonetheless. He wanted to connect with Minseok for once and for all, to strengthen their bond. He had sexual needs and so did Minseok. But the day turned out differently from the start. He still incredibly enjoyed it, even if the sketching turned out differently and he let his imagination run wild, maybe a bit too much. Minseok was a sight to behold when he was so focused on something, tongue peeking out between his lips, eyebrows furrowed, everything, and Jongin had to remind himself to tear his eyes away so he wouldn’t stop giving him directions, especially when he noticed how much his descriptions and voice affected him. He even purposely lowered his voice, testing to which extent he could influence Minseok. He had made quite some interesting discoveries and mentally noted a few things he would definitely do on other occasions, not being able to hide his smirk as he was walking outside of the place. He could stare at Minseok for hours on end, observing his expressions, the way his eyes crinkle when smiling, his gummy smile, his voice and so much more. He was never able to pinpoint what it was about him that he liked the most.

As he exited the atelier room, Jongin knew that he had something to take care of rather urgently. He had trouble walking with the erection he got from letting his imagination run wild and that was left unattended, thanks to his bastard of an agent. He made a trip to the nearest bathroom in the building complex after he managed to let Minseok be, who was just as affected as him by the whole thing. Checking his surroundings, he shortly debated whether he should use his car or a bathroom stall and opted for the second option. Using his shoulder to open the door to the bathroom, he quickly checked the remaining stalls, relieved that they were all empty. Maybe he should just have jerked off in Minseok's atelier together with him, he wouldn’t have minded a repetition from the first time when Minseok gave him a blowjob. The younger seemed to be conflicted about it as well and Jongin could only imagine what he was doing at that moment, since he was pretty sure that Minseok locked the door once he thought Jongin was out of earshot. Just the thought of it made him even more excited. He silently cursed his agent’s name who completely blew this occasion away.  
Sitting down on the closed toilet seat, he locked the door and stared at it, his hand automatically unzipping his pants and fondling his erection. He already lost track at how often he had jerked off in university with Minseok clouding his mind. His thoughts wandered while he was absentmindedly stroking his dick, his mind straying back to the man he couldn’t stop thinking about. He imagined how his hand would travel over his boyfriend’s skin, locking him in place, while Minseok would be wearing the thin, sheer woman's robe, looking at him with swollen lips, a rosy tint on his cheeks and the slit of his cock coated in precum when he would prepare himself for Jongin. Kneeling before him, his lips closed around Jongin’s dick, the small lips would stretch around the circumference of it when he would fuck into his mouth, hands buried in the young man's hair.

Jongin knew he was demanding and dominant, but the mere thought of making Minseok wear that kind of robe, the sweat glistening on his body, his hands locked over his head with the robe's belt, Minseok still in it when Jongin would bend him in half, stretching and probing at his hole that would clench so wonderfully around his fingers was just too endearing and drove him and his whole body absolutely crazy. He could vividly imagine the moment when he would finally thrust into his lover, Minseok’s ass sucking up his dick, turning him into a moaning and begging mess, wanting to be fucked harder, bending him in half to thrust into him, making Minseok come under him and releasing his own semen deep into Minseok's ass. He already realised that Minseok loved to be dominated and led, and this was right up his alley. When his cum would flow from Minseok's abused hole-- a second too late, he regained his senses and his hand was coated in his own cum. Breathing heavily, he tilted his head back and savoured the moment, but it was just a substitute. He wanted, no, needed to feel Minseok. He wanted to be connected with him, to turn them into one unity, to officially mark him.  
He stayed a few more minutes in the bathroom stall after wiping his hands and discarding the papers in the toilet. Stepping outside the stall, he walked up to the sink and let the warm water run, thoroughly cleaning his hands with soap. He studied his expression in the mirror; some strands of hair were hanging into his forehead and a smile was adorning his lips. He was sure that Minseok didn't fully realise how he completely ravaged and messed him up, how deep he had made him fall for him. Never had someone else left or even triggered such intense emotions and needs in him before. The next time, Jongin would make sure nothing would come in between them and he already had a plan for that. He had a feeling that Minseok wouldn't mind. Au contraire, he knew Minseok would want the same things as him. With these thoughts in mind, he left the building and looked back before sliding into the driver's seat.

He knew he would give his agent an earful after he exited his car at the museum where his photographs were still displayed and walked through the entrance door of the museum. Why did he have an agent that handled matters like this?  
“Ah, Mr Kim, you’re finally here,” his agent exclaimed when he rounded the corner. “What the fuck?” Jongin exclaimed equally loud. The museum’s curator’s eyes went wide and she made a cross sign with her hands while shaking her head and pointing at herself. She should have been the one responsible for the interview date, but apparently his agent took it upon himself.  
“This is the reporter you already talked with on the evening of the vernissage--”  
“Are you kidding me? That’s the reason why you called me on my free weekend? I said ‘in case of emergencies’ and this isn’t one. And even if I asked the curator to do it, since she has my schedule in case some reporters want to talk with me, you did it without my knowledge? We will talk later,” he spat angrily. Such an insignificant thing had prevented him to do what he was so close to achieve with Minseok? Fucking bastard.  
“I hope we didn’t interrupt you, Sir,” the reporter smiled sweetly.  
“If you still only wanna know who the model is, we’re already finished. Have a good day.” Jongin inclined his head slightly and turned around, walking briskly off. He couldn’t believe the guts those two men had.  


 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ ᴬⁿᵈ ˢᵒ ᴵ ᵂᵃᵗᶜʰ ʸᵒᵘ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᴬᶠᵃʳ ⁻ ᴬˡˡ ᴵ ᴺᵉᵉᵈ ᴵˢ ˢᵖᵃᶜᵉ](https://youtu.be/mSDnA8w2Qno)  
[ᴬⁿᵈ ˢᵒ ᴵ ᵂᵃᵗᶜʰ ʸᵒᵘ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᴬᶠᵃʳ ⁻ ˢᵖᶦᵈᵉʳᵇᵒˣ](https://youtu.be/uTC1QoyWMaE)  
[ᴬⁿᵈ ˢᵒ ᴵ ᵂᵃᵗᶜʰ ʸᵒᵘ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᴬᶠᵃʳ ⁻ ⁷ ᴮᶦˡˡᶦᵒⁿ](https://youtu.be/RLafUk_cV98)  
[ᴹᶦᵈ⁻ᴬᶦʳ ᵀʰᶦᵉᶠ ⁻ ᵀʰᵉˢᵉ ᶜʰᵃᶦⁿˢ](https://youtu.be/8JQIUWdypG8)


	13. Léda et le Cygne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｌéｄａ　ｅｔ　ｌｅ　ｃｙｎｇｅ »  
> eng.: ‹ leda and the swan ›     
> Ａｂｅｌ－Ｒｅｎé　Ｐｈｉｌｉｐｐｅ

Minseok was agitated, very agitated. He massaged his fingers, especially his pointer fingers, while running up and down the entrance way to the front door of his apartment complex. In the ashtray next to the entrance itself, he had already dropped two buds in and was currently on his third cigarette. What was he so nervous about? It wasn’t like Jongin hadn’t already seen him naked, but when the man’s eyes raked over his body, the tingling feeling in his stomach just increased tenfold and he felt like his toes curl. He had imagined his skin to burn under Jongin’s fingertips countless times, when he would touch his face or neck, intertwine their fingers, leave feathery kisses on his cheek, sneak a hand on his butt, stuff like that. But when the man looked at him when he was changing clothes or the last time in his atelier, at Jongin’s own exhibition-- he stopped his train of thoughts and squished his face between his hands, shaking it. It was already bad enough that Jongin had finally managed to change Minseok's mind about modelling for him and being his muse. He shouldn’t think about, it just stressed him out even more than he already was and his body particularly liked to react to such things at times with nauseousness. He gritted his teeth, cigarette still dangling in between his lips, and raked his hands through his hair. He squished his cheeks between his hands again and patted them more or less a little bit too strong. Being the muse for your favorite artist was like- he didn’t even know how to describe it. He still couldn’t believe it to this day. Jongin could’ve chosen anyone but he wanted him. He was somewhere between pure uneasiness and doubt.

Suddenly he felt uncomfortable in his clothes. He was just wearing a light old hoodie, tainted with specks of bleach and colours, some cuts here and there, and loose jeans that definitely had seen better days. The material on the heel was frilled and so thin it could rip any second, same for the material on his kneecaps, the cloth already ripped there. He had gained weight back ever since he held his own exhibition, maybe also due to Jongin’s constant pestering about eating enough, but the pants had always been too loose, so a belt was a must. He took one last drag on his third and final cigarette and put it out. At least he hoped it was his last one, but his fingers were naturally itching to hold one to relieve his stress levels that didn’t seem to decrease at all. Jongin had told him to wear old clothes since they would go to the ateliers again, so no need to play dress up. He turned around towards the entrance door and his eyes fell on another pair of eyes. Registering it, he squeaked and jumped away.

“Did I scare you, young man? Am I that scary?”  
“Man, Lisbeth! Couldn’t you announce your presence?” Minseok dramatically clutched his heart. He wasn’t easy to scare but the old woman was a totally different case.  
“Shit your pants yet, eh?”  
“You shouldn’t be allowed to talk that way.”  
“As if you’re better, Minnie,” she smiled at him and waved, asking him to go closer to the window she was sitting by on the ground floor. “Are you meeting that handsome man again?”  
“Are you supervising me?”  
“Sure, have to keep an eye on my sunshine. When will he be here, eh?”  
“In twenty minutes.”  
“Why are you even outside so early?” she shuffled around in her kitchen and Minseok leaned his arms on the windowsill after he got a few plant pots out of the way. “Don’t even know, I’m just somehow kinda nervous, y’know?” He propped his chin on his arms and watched the old woman. She came back with a steaming hot mug of coffee and an ashtray she placed before him. “He’s an artist, right? I think I read about him in my gossip magazines and I know for certain the talk about his secret lover and I‘m pretty sure it’s you,” sitting back down on her chair, she looked at the young man, winking. “He seems to be a nice and educated man. You should introduce him some time and invite him over for dinner, I can’t let my favourite tenant who’s also leaving me, be with someone untrustworthy.”  
She laughed at her own bad attempt at joking and Minseok sipped the coffee she offered him, feeling less nervous by now and smiling at the sound of her lovely laugh. They spent some time talking about this and that until the old woman nudged him and pointed behind him, “He’s here, he just parked his car. Go get‘m, tiger.”  
Blushing, he said his goodbye, skipped towards the hedge and peeked around it. Jongin was waiting by his car, leaning at the hood of it and playing with his phone. He looked fabulous in simple clothes; dark washed, slim fitted jeans with a grey, oversized shirt and above it, a light leather jacket. His former mullet, that had grown out so much in the past months, was pulled back in a bun, which was incredibly sexy, and he had his pair of glasses perched low on his nose, still sophisticated and grand. Minseok’s smile faltered and his doubts came back. Why would such a man choose him? He felt literally dirty in his clothes. Before he could get lost again into his swirl of self-doubt, his phone pinged, a message from Jongin, from where he was standing. Standing straight, Minseok smiled and raised his voice a little, “I’m already here.” Hearing Minseok’s voice, Jongin’s facial features lit up like fire and he smiled brightly, showing the upper row of his teeth, and his eyes beautifully crinkled into crescents. When he smiled like that, he looked like he could be Minseok’s age and not already 33 years old.

Minseok walked up to him and Jongin pushed off the hood, approaching him as well. He hugged his boyfriend and plastered a chaste kiss on the young man’s lips before pulling back, his face glowing with rapture and love. “Hey, I missed you,” he softly spoke out, cupping Minseok’s cheeks, before giving him another kiss. Minseok’s doubts were instantly blown away by Jongin’s caring gesture that spoke for itself and he reciprocated the older man’s actions by deepening the kiss while circling his arms around Jongin’s torso, “I missed you too.”  
Jongin didn’t let go and looked down on him, still smiling brightly, “I love you.”  
“I love you too, but I can't shake off the feeling that you have something planned and that you’re trying to appease me in advance.” Squinting at his lover, Minseok stared suspiciously at the older man whose eyelids started twitching from smiling so much. He looked defeated.  
“Maybe? I’ll tell you when we arrive,” he was starting to look stressed. If he was looking like this, he was seriously bothered or riled up and Minseok didn’t like it one bit.  
“Kim Jongin,” Minseok was surprised by how menacing his pronunciation of that name sounded, spilling from his lips.  
“I like the bossy you,” Jongin was back to smirking and closing in on Minseok after he had distanced himself, “but I’ll tell you in the atelier, can’t have you running off after I got you almost where I want you to be. Otherwise, I would have to tie you up so you wouldn’t run away and I have a feeling you would like that.” He was grinning slyly and their noses were almost touching when Jongin hooked his finger around Minseok’s belt buckle and pulled at it a little bit, almost unbuckling it. Minseok was sold once again. He couldn’t go up against the man. He averted his eyes and tilted his head away, blushing like mad. Jongin took the movement as an invitation and closed further in. Minseok felt his hot breath on his ear, “Seems like you would really like it.”

That was enough. Minseok almost whined and he was over the top sexually frustrated since they were cockblocked the last time. Jerking himself off and prying his hole open with his fingers to masturbate and imagine Jongin fucking him after the older man left was torture. He was in desperate need of being filled by Jongin’s cock, to feel him, to be finally connected with him. He couldn’t take it any longer after all those months.

“Jongin!” he hit his chest and marched off to the passenger side of the car, glaring at his boyfriend. Jongin, on the other hand, unlocked the car door and winked at him over the car’s roof before sliding in his seat. Minseok just tsk-ed and rolled his eyes before opening the door and buckling up for the ride. The ride itself was filled with content silence, both just bathing into each other's presence. Jongin had his hand resting on Minseok’s thigh when he wasn’t engaging the gear and Minseok was looking out of the window most of the time. The radio was softly playing some classical music, very quietly in the background.  
“Who is it?”  
“Huh?”  
“The composer of the piece that is playing.”  
“Brahms. It’s the third movement of his Piano Quintet opus 34, if I remember correctly,” Jongin answered, staring, lost in thought at the red traffic light while subconsciously massaging Minseok’s thigh under his hand. At least, that was what Minseok hoped since the hand was way too high up his leg. A blush rose up on his cheeks.

Jongin had an atelier rented, located outside of the city, that was bigger and of a better use for big sculptures and everything else he needed was there as well. It would be Minseok's first time visiting this atelier since Jongin only moved to the uni city for his guest professorship, but he said he might settle down there as well. There was also a change in Jongin’s schedule in the second semester; he didn’t have an office for himself alone anymore. Instead, he had one together with Dr Zhang and no one knew why. Well, the students didn’t know the reasons behind it and neither did the professors. It was a surprise when Dr Zhang came forward with the proposal. In the end, it was just an opportunity for Jongin to easily deflect students that asked for “favours” and Minseok was happy about that.

Later, they arrived at the building’s parking lot, the building complex consisting of a number of smaller and bigger multi-purpose rooms.   
“Minseok, can you get the package from the backseat?” Jongin asked with his hands full when he bumped the car door shut with his hip.  
“Sure,” Minseok tucked the small package under his arm and pushed the car door shut, before turning back to the passenger’s seat and grabbing his hoodie he had taken off in the car since Jongin had the A.C on. Slinging it around his shoulder, he closed that door as well and jogged up to his boyfriend who was struggling at the door.  
“Eh, hands full, Nini?” Minseok teased and patted Jongin’s butt in victory since for once, he was the one with the upper hand.  
“Well, since you have already analysed the situation correctly, would you be so nice to get the keys from my front pocket?” Minseok obeyed when he abruptly stopped mid-motion as his hand was almost at the front pocket, staring suspiciously at Jongin. “No sexual innuendo,” Jongin reassured him. Minseok wouldn’t mind, but he kept his mouth shut. Better safe than sorry. While still glancing incredulously at Jongin, he resumed his movement and finally took hold of the keys in the man’s pocket but he let his hand linger unnecessarily long there, spacing out a bit. “Minseok, if you’re not retrieving your hand this moment, I’d be forced to take you here on the spot,” Jongin had turned around to the younger man, stepping closer, at least as far as the stuff in his hands let him, and his voice dropped a few pitches. Minseok regained his senses back and blushed from embarrassment, “Shit, sorry, I’m sorry.”  
Jongin’s voice changed in articulation and the playful Jongin was replaced by a concerned one, “Are you alright? Something’s on your mind?”  
“You,” Minseok straightened and placed a chaste kiss on Jongin’s lips, catching him off guard.  
“That was smooth,” Jongin smiled brightly, showing his teeth, and tried to sneak another kiss from Minseok who put his hand in front of Jongin’s face, “No can do.”  
“Party pooper,” Jongin pouted and Minseok couldn’t resist and snuck another kiss before opening the door and vanishing inside. “Minseok, you’re the worst boyfriend I could ask for,” shouted the older man after him.  
“Neither did I ask for you,” Minseok’s laugh was heard from inside.

___________  
_Later._

Minseok was nervously playing with the ends of the belt that held the bathrobe together. Jongin had agreed that they would let the relationship develop in a ‘slow pace’, except for those few breakouts the two had that got dangerous. And he had a feeling that something more serious could happen today, given the circumstances. He gulped nervously and pulled the belt tighter, looking himself up and down in the mirror. He was still wearing his briefs, after some hassle with Jongin, so he wasn’t completely naked. He could feel his previous nervousness assault him again, his fingers itching to hold another cigarette. He should have taken one before entering the atelier. He opened the bathrobe again, turning left and right and inspected his body while trying to ease his nerves that showed no signs of stopping. He wasn’t happy, he at least had gained his initial weight back but at the same time he felt uncomfortable in his own body. Was it because Jongin was tall, slim, fit and simply perfect? And that he was just, well, Minseok? He knew he was looking decent, but--  
“What’s taking you so long, Minnie?” Jongin appeared in the dressing room after changing his jeans for more comfortable sweatpants and he instantly locked eyes with him in the mirror, “What’s up?”  
“I--” Minseok choked on his words and wrung the bathrobe belt between his hand, averting his eyes from Jongin’s burning gaze.  
“Minseok,” Jongin walked up to him and turned him around, his hands wandering under the robe and resting his hands on Minseok’s back. The latter stumbled into him, shocked from the suddenness and determination Jongin was oozing out. “You’re the most beautiful human being I have ever laid my eyes on.” Minseok’s cheeks instantly turned crimson red at the compliment but still he avoided meeting Jongin’s stare he could feel on him. “To be honest, I thought the same when I saw you for the first time in my lecture. The radiance your eyes are emitting, the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh, the sound you make when laughing that is music to my ears, and so much more, have always left me in awe. You may not be flawless,” Jongin caressed the scar on Minseok’s back he had discovered a few weeks ago when Minseok stayed over after his vernissage, “but you’re more than perfect in my eyes, it’s scary, if I’m honest. I have never met someone as beautiful, mysterious, dedicated and as loving as you are, Minseok.” He placed a kiss on Minseok’s lips and pulled his face closer by his chin, deepening the kiss, coaxing Minseok’s lips open with his while the younger was angling his head for better access. It was a deep, loving kiss, nothing sexual, and Jongin felt Minseok relaxing against him. “We should get to work while the sun is illuminating your spot the way it is now,” Jongin commented while he slid Minseok’s bathrobe off his shoulders and let it pool around his ankles. “Minseok, my love, if you would follow me,” his mind was already in work mode when he dragged Minseok along by their intertwined fingers.  
“Jongin, I love you,” Minseok breathed out, shyly, and almost in a whisper.  
“I love you too.”

___________  
_Some time later._

“For fuck’s sake, Jongin! My body isn’t that flexible, how do you expect me to do that?!”  
“Just a bit more.”  
“A bit more? A BIT MORE? I feel my bones starting to break and my flesh tearing apart.”  
“Minseok, please.”  
“Oh-no, no way in hell!”  
“Minseok, slowly, don’t do it too abrupt, I-- See, I told you...”  
Minseok was lying on his side, face distorted in pain, and he held his lower back, wincing in distress. “Don’t make me do positions like that again, I told you I’m not flexible.”  
“I already witnessed that different-”  
“Shut your mouth, demon, don’t remind m-”  
Jongin leaned over him, caging Minseok’s body under his with his arms. Smirking, he looked down at him, “Well, you seemed to enjoy it a lot.”  
Minseok was too much in pain to be turned on at that second, “Let me sit up straight and put less pressure on my back.”

Jongin didn’t object and went back to his drawing board. He already had lots of sketches of the younger’s body for his studies, nothing too detailed, and he had taken a few photos when Minseok wasn’t looking. With his camera in hand, he planned to browse the pics but when he turned around, his breath hitched in his throat and he forgot how to breathe. Minseok, with his eyes close, stretched his arms back while folding them behind his back, his upper body tipped back, tiptoeing. The sunlight was shining on his body and his face was hiding behind a dance of sunlight and shadows from the trees outside, illuminating one eye, the other hidden in its profile view. Jongin, in his trance, was quick to react and managed to take a few shots he just dearly hoped turned out somewhat good. No medium was worthy enough to portray Kim Minseok’s eternal beauty. The young man slowly turned his upper body around, facing Jongin with half-lidded eyes, smiling in bliss from the warmth of the sun on his skin. Jongin managed to activate a burst shot.  
“Minseok,” he breathed out, inaudibly, just the dust dancing around carrying the unspoken desire he held towards his love. He knew he had lost the moment he first set eyes on the student in the first week of university, when he saw him standing outside the building, smoking with his eyes closed and enjoying the autumn sun on his face.

“You’re going to catch flies if you don’t close your mouth,” Minseok walked up to Jongin, wrapping his arms around him and pressing his body flush against him, kissing the corner of his lips. Jongin didn’t realise that Minseok was against him since he was still deep into his daydreaming. As soon as he snapped back into reality, his left hand settled on Minseok’s lower back and pressed him further against him, his camera still in his right one, “Do you feel ready?” he asked and tugged at his briefs.  
“Don’t remind me,” Minseok flushed beet red. He detached himself from Jongin, “Could you, uh, maybe, look away? While I’m undressing?” he asked nervously and slightly fidgeting.  
“Minseok, it’s not like I hadn’t already seen you nak-”  
“Please, don’t make it worse than it already is, “I’m not used to undressing in front of someone who’s going to stare at my, my, you know ... penis, while drawing it?”  
Jongin respected his wish and turned around, but Minseok forgot about the little mirror that was usually in Jongin’s back; he had a perfect view on Minseok’s back view. He couldn’t stop himself from watching the subject of his desires through the mirror, following with the greatest interest his reflection. When the younger bent and pulled down his briefs to get them off his ankles, he struggled to control himself and his very creative mind but kept silent and pushed his natural urges away from his mind. He wanted, first and foremost, to let some space for Minseok to be comfortable under this circumstance he couldn’t handle well yet. Swallowing hard and with all the strength he was unaware he had in him, Jongin suppressed his desires and averted his gaze from the mirror.  
“Uhm, you can turn around now,” Minseok hid his genitalia with the briefs in his hands and looked anywhere but at Jongin. His face was burning. Jongin was torn between teasing him, seducing him on the spot or acting like the mature professional he was and forgetting about his sexual cravings for a second now that he wasn’t staring at a reflection but rather at the man in the flesh. His dick, on the other side, was already twitching. Minseok wouldn’t be spared today, he was waiting too long for this day until now and every time they would have made the next step, someone kept cockblocking them. But that would certainly not happen today. He had already shut his phone off and made Minseok do the same.  
He slowly walked up to him, enjoying the effect he had on the younger who winced when he approached him and still refused to meet his eyes, “Look at me.” Minseok hesitantly lifted his eyes and looked up into Jongin’s. Minseok stared at him like a deer caught in headlights and Jongin heard him swallow. He slowly reached Minseok’s hands, and grabbed them in his larger one, lifting them up and removing the briefs with his other hand. His eyes never left Minseok’s and a sly smirk danced around his lips, “You don’t need that.” He lifted Minseok’s hands up to his lips and kissed his knuckles. Minseok proved the impossible wrong as his face reddened even more. “I need you to lie down on those covers on the ground with your head in my direction, but you don’t need to show your face, my love,” he lowly whispered. He stepped closer and Minseok instinctively made a step back, but Jongin pulled him back by his waist, even closer than before. “I feel you’re already rock hard,” Jongin teased, his voice laced with dark desire, when he slightly rolled his hip against Minseok’s erected penis, barely managing to suppress his own groan at the friction. Minseok inhaled sharply and averted his gaze. “Glad to know I have such an effect on you.”   
“Shut up and let’s get this over and done with,” Minseok whined.   
“Sorry my love,” Jongin turned him around and led him to the covers. “Lie down the way you feel most comfortable since the study will take a bit longer than the ones you’re used to in the nude course.” Minseok just hummed in response and sat down with his back to Jongin. He turned around towards the artist, his hands in his lap and one leg drawn towards his body. He settled on just looking at him, sitting still, and waited until Jongin sat down after pulling his chair a little bit closer. Minseok moved to the farther end of the covers and let his legs dangle over the edge. He lay down on his left side and crossed his thighs lightly, obstructing the view of the lower part of his legs when they dangled over the end of the mattress but having his erected penis on full display for Jongin. Minseok placed his left arm in a way that it was facing upwards and stretched away from himself, his hand bending back over the edge, and his knuckles touching the ground. He craned his upper body a bit over the arm, distributing its weight over it so it hopefully wouldn’t fall asleep due to not enough blood circulation. His right arm was thrown over his head, angled in a way like he would try to hide his face in the crook of his elbow, and effectively, his face was complete hidden. He wiggled a bit more into the covers until he deemed his position comfortable enough. Jongin could see his whole right side until the hip in a straight line, his hip tilting inwards, showing the beginning of his buttcrack and also parts of the chest. He found it fascinating how Minseok’s shoulder blades drove together and protruded when he hid his face under the crook of his elbow. And the way he lay on his left upper arm looked a little painful or at least uncomfortable in his eyes, but he didn’t ask further and let Minseok position himself as he deemed agreeable.

“You’re ready?”  
Minseok once again only hummed in response, clearly embarrassed with his completely naked body on full display. He could only hear the scratching of a pencil on paper for a long time, sometimes the shutter of Jongin’s camera as well. Minseok completely, solely focused his thoughts and senses on the surrounding sounds and maintained a stable breathing pattern, while trying to ignore his erection that was slightly uncomfortable. He didn’t know how much time passed when Jongin suddenly spoke up, but Minseok refused to open his eyes. “You know, Minseok, I’m still a bit bummed you left the nude course when I was about to pose naked a few months ago.” Minseok inhaled sharply and shuddered. This was something he still didn’t prefer to think about. “Seriously? Now?”  
“Yes, why did you leave?” Jongin sounded genuinely interested and somewhat concerned. “I was about to have a panic attack, weren’t for Del,” Minseok mumbled, but in the stillness of the atelier, Jongin heard him loud and clear. He didn’t say anything for what felt like an eternity. “I’m sorry, Minseok. I think I didn’t know what I did to you. To be honest, I only had myself in mind and used everything in my favour--” “And everyone, that’s correct.” “--I should have really thought about other people’s feelings. I know it’s no valid reason or excuse, but please know that I’m genuinely sorry for what I did to you.” Minseok lifted his right arm and glared at Jongin from underneath it. There was a wetness around his eyes that reflected a bit under the sunlight, “I hope you do feel deeply sorry.” Jongin couldn’t help but be deeply mesmerised by him.

He checked his study once more before he deemed it good enough. When it was done, he disposed of his things and slowly stood up, the joints in his kneecaps protesting. Minseok still didn’t move a muscle, making Jongin afraid at the thought of him having fallen asleep. Walking up to the lain male, he crouched down before him. Minseok’s eyes followed his every movement and locked with his. The younger looked grumpily sad and Jongin reached out to remove a stray tear, but Minseok turned his face into the covers and moved the arm down to shield his face. “Minseok,” Jongin’s voice was oh-so-very-soft and deep and it sent waves of electric tingles through Minseok’s whole body. He loved the sound of Jongin’s voice so much. Feeling a calloused hand on his ribcage and the covers moving beside him, his body came on alert. From what it seemed like, Minseok guessed that Jongin sat cross-legged next to him, one kneecap touching his upper arm. He felt light fingertips on the arm he lay on until they reached his hand. He automatically opened his fist and let the fingers intertwine with his.  

The hand on his ribcage moved slowly up and down before drawing little patterns on his naked body. Jongin touched as much skin he could, caressing possessively the man he was completely infatuated with as he would to his own art pieces, and Minseok pulled his legs up, making himself smaller since he already felt the aftermath of Jongin’s loving gestures in his lower region. Jongin apparently did as well since he let out a deep chuckle that had too much of an effect on his whole body, with his low and delicious tone, “Minseok, get up.” “Don’t wanna.”  
Minseok’s cute whine only made Jongin’s grin wider and he was confronted once again with his deepest desire of connecting their bodies and soul once and for all, but he was somewhat hesitant while watching Minseok lying down like this, naked and only a step away from finally making his wish come true. He had sworn to himself to approach Minseok in this specific regard by considering the latter's pace, too afraid to scare him in the end, especially ever since the one time in university when he had eavesdropped involuntarily on a heated yet alarming conversation between Minseok and Adelpha concerning his lover's past. It had made him more aware of Minseok’s discomfort and his straightforward attitude, even though he hadn’t been able to control some of his urges a few times. Minseok had already pointed out such things in endless conversations between the two, when they just talked and talked for hours on end and asked for his patience about the matter, patience to please wait until after his Bachelor's Degree, and only then  would he answer every question he had and promise that it wouldn't intervene with their relationship. Jongin was even stopped one time in the university's hallways by Miss Dallas, who looked concerned and warned him about Minseok's mood swings regarding subjects like that and that he should show patience with Minseok in terms of the troubles he had committing into a relationship with his full trust, without wavering thoughts that could make him regret his decision… again.

Jongin still ended up testing the waters, not having the strength at that moment to push away his yearning for his boyfriend and wanting to match Minseok’s pace and see if he was as willing and as ready as him to go further. “If you don’t get up, I might do some dirty things to you,” Jongin commented suggestively, his hand travelling from Minseok’s waist to in between his legs, leaving Minseok’s skin burning with passion as he was he brushing it. He sucked in air and shuddered, completely weak against Jongin’s touch, or even the man in general. He forced himself to get up, but he already knew he had lost. But he didn’t mind, not this time. He was craving for it for way too long now and he would certainly not let this occasion slip past his fingers. When he was finally facing the older, he confirmed that Jongin indeed was sitting cross-legged and smiled lovingly at him. Minseok, on the other hand, still felt deeply embarrassed and exposed in front of his boyfriend. Sitting on his legs, he put his hands once again in his lap, but they couldn’t really hide his erection this time.

“Minnie, come here,” Jongin patted his lap in a cheeky manner after he let go of his hand. Minseok coughed. Why was he the one to feel embarrassed when his boyfriend acted like this? “I--” but he wasn’t able to object since Jongin grabbed his hips with both hands and forcefully pulled him on his desired place. Minseok let out a sound of confusion until he caught himself on Jongin’s upper arms, the muscles underneath his fingers flexing when Jongin reached around him and pulled him closer. He looked down but Jongin’s face appeared in his line of sight, his face being forced up by his chin. Jongin’s eyes were dark and a damn attractive half smile was tugging at the corner of his lips. “Minseok,” Jongin’s voice was unbelievably deep and slightly shaking. It sent tingles once again through Minseok’s body and his cock twitched, “Am I allowed to take you today and finally make you mine?” Jongin asked while intently gazing at him, his voice holding so much desire, way more than usual, and even desperation.  
“I’m already yours and yours alone,” Minseok replied while unconsciously closing in on Jongin as his whole being wanted nothing more than for them to be finally united together.   
“I know, but I can’t wait any longer,” his hand moved places to harshly grab Minseok’s ass as he sealed lips with him. The kiss was messy and sloppy, their teeth clanking, and Jongin harshly sucked at Minseok’s lower lip, his tongue delving deep inside Minseok’s cavern, robbing Minseok’s last breath and the last bit of sanity he was holding onto. When they parted to catch their breaths, Minseok urgently tugged at Jongin’s shirt to pull it off him, making the latter relieved that his eagerness was reciprocated, knowing that he was on the same page as him, and fully give in to his fervent needs with less, or rather no restraint. Minseok took in the sight before him and let his hands roam the perfectly sculpted chest, eyes dark with lust. He wetted his lips; he wanted to mark him so badly. Bending down, he flicked his tongue over Jongin’s jawline and down to his throat before lightly biting it and sucking on the delectable skin. Jongin inhaled sharply and pressed his throat further into his lips, the hand on his ass pressing down on his hole, but still not entering it. Satisfied by Jongin’s soft groans of pleasure, Minseok detached his lips and a beautiful bruise was forming on his skin.

“Minseok, will you get up for a second?” Jongin sounded out of breath and Minseok saw why, expecting him to be leaking precum already; Jongin’s bulge was very prominent in his sweatpants, the outline of his cock defined through the material and increasing his craving a hundred times more just at the endearing sight alone. He whined when Jongin’s warmth left him, the sound music to Jongin’s ears. But Minseok was faster once Jongin stood, driven by his unprecedented need, almost blaming the unbearable accumulated sexual frustration from the past weeks. Hooking his fingers into the waistband, he carefully pulled down the sweats and briefs and Jongin’s cock sprung free. “I love it when you’re needy, Carrara,” Jongin reached down and caressed Minseok’s face. Minseok took the cock in his hand and left soft kisses on the whole length, starting from the base. He let the tip of his tongue slowly twirl around Jongin’s tip. Jongin twisted his fingers into Minseok’s hair and grabbed harshly at it, letting out a deep growl. Minseok wrapped his hand around the erection, giving it a couple of well-aimed strokes, before enclosing his lips around it and taking it in. Jongin was thicker than he realised. Bobbing his head up and down, he started to build up a pace, developing a certain feeling at the sensation of the shaft in his mouth and sucked a bit faster, working with his tongue. All the while, he looked up at Jongin, not missing the older’s dark and hazy eyes, the pleasure and raw want evident in the sounds he made and the way his body reacted in pleasure. Jongin buckled into him, pushing Minseok’s face near his crotch and only Minseok’s hand saved him from being deep-throated.

“That’s enough!” Jongin suddenly said as he let go of Minseok's hair, the younger licking his lips and swallowing his saliva mixed with Jongin’s precum. It was a sight to behold; Minseok, with clouded eyes, breathing heavily with his swollen, pink lips, cock leaking precum from being unattended and a string of saliva at the side of his lips, looking up at Jongin and begging him to fuck him with his eyes alone. Jongin crouched back down and pulled Minseok forcefully on his lap while retrieving a bottle of lube from beneath the covers. Minseok didn’t even question that and moaned shamelessly when Jongin sucked on his collarbones and massaged his ass, their erections rubbing against each other, creating delightful friction. Jongin grabbed his dick and spread his precum with his thumb over the tip. “Give me the lube,” Minseok whispered, almost choking on his own words. Once he received the bottle, he hastily uncapped it and spread some on his fingers to warm it up a bit.   
Kneeling over Jongin, he took a hold of his shoulder with one hand, feeling Jongin’s cock brushing the skin on his thighs. He reached behind himself, his hole already clenching from the sexual need to be filled and fucked by Jongin. He pushed his finger up his hole and hissed. Jongin, on the other hand, steadied his lover by his hips, breathing heavily, leaving kisses on his chest and sucking his nipples harshly. Minseok was too agitated to take his sweet time to prepare himself so he didn’t waste any time. His finger slid in and out to spread the lube, even adding a second finger, but before he could add a third one, his hand was covered by a larger one, and Jongin’s three digits slid into him, stretching and scissoring him further, the burning sensation of the stretch driving Minseok crazy since Jongin’s fingers were bigger than his. Minseok, overwhelmed by the feeling, moaned loudly when Jongin went as far as to add a fourth finger when he deemed him loose enough. Minseok couldn’t restrain his moans, each of them loud, overwhelmed by the mere sensation of the hot and wet fingers thrusting inside of him when Jongin retreated his pinky from the hole and thrusted his three fingers into him, curling to press at the spot that made him go crazy.  
“Minseok, I don’t have condoms on me.” “You realise that quite early,” Minseok gritted his teeth, “Just take me! Nini--” he held up Jongin’s dick by his base, coating it with lube and giving it a few good pumps, making Jongin moan. The tip of Jongin’s cock pushed against his rim and Minseok closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling a few times to calm down and somewhat control his impatience while preparing himself mentally to finally be entered by Jongin’s hard dick. With the last exhale, he lowered himself slowly down on the cock, stopping for a second, before being fully seated.

“Fuck, Minseok! You feel so good and so fucking tight,” Jongin moaned out loud, his head slightly tipped back at the wonderful sensation, his tight hold on Minseok’s hips increasing in pressure. This would probably leave bruises, but Minseok wasn’t complaining. He was still trying to adjust to Jongin’s dick up his ass, but the initial pain was quickly overthrown by pleasure. Stabilising himself with one hand on Jongin’s chest, he slowly lifted himself up before descending again. Jongin’s cock up his ass felt better than he could have imagined. Minseok progressively increased the pace and his moans turned louder and bolder as well as Jongin’s. Suddenly, Jongin thrust into him when he lifted himself, creating much more force, eliciting a throaty moan from the younger. “Fuck, Jongin, fuck my brains out!” “As you wish.”   
Jongin flipped them over, intense sexual desire glowing in his eyes, throwing Minseok’s legs over his shoulders and fucking mercilessly into him, pounding into him. Minseok tried lifting his hips a bit more to soften the thrusts, but Jongin took a leg off his shoulder, spreading his legs more. Minseok’s cock was throbbing, needing affection and release. Shortly before he grabbed his length, Jongin slowed down his tempo, almost pulling out his cock, just the tip remaining, and swatted his hand away, interlocking his hands over his head, “You won’t come until I let you,” he snarled, before bending down and hungrily kissing Minseok before ramming back into him, making Minseok cry in pleasure. He repeated the action a few times, making Minseok shudder under him, “Jongin, please, fuck me harder, faster,” he demanded needily and Jongin fucked into him without restraint, Minseok’s and his own body aching in pleasure. He filled Minseok’s ass perfectly, thick as his cock was, throbbing deep inside of him, hitting that bundle of nerves that made Minseok crazy, making his hole clench around Jongin whenever he hit it. “Fuck, Jongin, I’m coming,” tears shot in his eyes but he enjoyed every second of it. Jongin enclosed his large, calloused hand around his dick that was throbbing and dripping, the mere sight so erotic he couldn’t contain a deep and low grunt. Jongin once again aimed at his sweet spot and Minseok rolled his eyes back in bliss, reaching his high in a silent scream, his head thrown back, with eyes closed, his fingers desperately fisting into the covers and his hole clenching oh-so-tightly around Jongin’s cock, bringing him to the edge, his own cock releasing his semen into Jongin’s hand. He breathed heavily, his hole clenching sporadically around Jongin. The older continued to fuck into him, chasing after his own high until he came, releasing his cum deep into Minseok and riding his orgasm out.

Jongin looked down on Minseok who lay under him, breathing heavily and a wide smile adorned his features, “Minseok, you feel so good. Fuck!” Jongin bent down and gave Minseok a long and sweet kiss, just peppering him over and over again with little pecks while pulling out his softened cock from Minseok, who whined in return when the fulfilling and much sought after feeling left him, his hole clenching around nothing but air, burning from being fucked so rough, sensitive to the cold air.  
“Now, now, my love, don’t be needy.” He removed Minseok’s leg from his shoulder and the younger immediately pressed his legs together, but Jongin’s cum was still dripping from his abused hole, sensitive and pulsating as it was. His own semen strewn over his torso, his chest heaving heavily while catching his breath and his arm shielding his face from the setting sun, that was still high enough to blind him and that dyed the atelier in a soft orange glow. Jongin acted on impulse when he grabbed his camera that lay in his range and took a photo of his lover. “Are you, huh, fucking kidding me, Mr Kim?” Minseok huffed out since he knew the shutter sound too well. “Sorry, see it as a kink of mine to take photographs of my lover after I have fucked him.” Minseok rolled his eyes at his weird antic before smiling fondly.   
“Well, the fucking part was phenomenally executed. I love you, Jongin.” Jongin detached his eyes from the camera and gazed lovingly at his boyfriend, his smile as wide as could be.  
“I love you too, Minseok. But let’s get you cleaned first, we could take a shower together if you need help with cleaning,” Jongin’s pitch dropped low suggestively, and Minseok gulped heavily. He wouldn’t mind a second round. The sex was alluring and addictive, paired up together with Jongin’s touches and kisses that were in a whole other league of their own already.

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ʰᵃⁿᵍ ᵐᵃˢˢᶦᵛᵉ ⁻ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵉᶜʳᵉᵗ ᵏᶦˢˢᶦⁿᵍ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ˢᵘⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵐᵒᵒⁿ](https://youtu.be/nvmOoSFhhJ4)  
[ᶜᶦᵍᵃʳᵉᵗᵗᵉˢ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ˢᵉˣ ⁻ ⁿᵒᵗʰᶦⁿᵍ'ˢ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ʰᵘʳᵗ ʸᵒᵘ](https://youtu.be/R2LQdh42neg)


	14. Italy pt I: Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> « Ｄｕｏｍｏ Ｓａｎｔａ Ｍａｒｉａ ｄｅｌ Ｆｉｏｒｅ »  
> eng.: ‹ Cathedral Santa Maria in Florence ›  
> Ｆｉｌｉｐｐｏ Ｂｒｕｎｅｌｌｅｓｃｈｉ

Spring was reaching its end, the summer’s colours and warmth taking over rather harshly. The sun was shining brightly on this normal weekday, and despite it being far past lunch time, the workers sitting at the cafe Minseok was in were still chatting excitedly, taking a break from the scorching hot sun and from their outdoor tasks and making the most of the A.C that was blasting inside the cafe. It was a nice change from the uptight workers in the city and its stuffy atmosphere. The countryside was so relaxing and welcoming.

“When are you two lovebirds gonna leave?” asked Desmond before sipping a freshly brewed coffee, one of the specialities of the place. “Next week. Jealous much, eh?” Minseok teased while drinking the delicious coffee, completely at ease in the comforting environment exactly to his taste, in the company of his favourite bus driver. Desmond smiled warmly, “‘Course! Italy looks wonderful. Better take some pictures and send ‘em to me. But I’m too old for traveling now. Should’ve done that when I was your age. Those were the good ol’ days.” Minseok chuckled, “You’re not that old, Des.” “Heh, just wait ‘til you reach my age, kid.” The younger one laughed wholeheartedly while savouring his hot drink. It was way too hot to drink coffee, and just feeling its temperature while holding the cup activated his sweat glands even more than they already were -Minseok cursed the premature summer hotness that unfortunately overstepped the usual, late spring, cozy one- but it was a must. Des had offered him to visit his hometown in the countryside, spending two days and a night there, and this was one of his favourites places in town. And there was no way that Minseok would turn down the offer of savouring some high quality coffee, no matter what the weather was.

The courteous lady who owned the cafe came up to their table and laid down a plate full of a variety of cheese and bread. Desmond looked up to her, eyebrows raised, “Rosemary, we didn’t order anything.” The woman waved her hand at him in dismissal, “Shut that mouth of yours, Des, it’s on the house and we won’t take it back. I want that plate empty when I come back, alright?” She swiftly winked at Minseok, “And we need to take good care of our visitor, we don’t get much of ‘em these days.” The lady stayed and chatted a little bit with the two, their conversation filled with sarcastic remarks and laughter as well as some catching up. After getting to know Minseok a little bit better, Rosemary ushered the workers outside, complaining about them being too noisy and lazy. Minseok softly chuckled, liking the amiable lady despite her strong character. “She’s an old friend of mine. She has a heart of gold.” Desmond watched the now grumpy workers exit the cafe, going back to minding their business and finishing their day of hard labor. It was Minseok’s first day there, but he was already liking it a lot. The townspeople seemed very nice.

“Didn’t know you had enough money to pay for a few weeks’ trip in Italy?” Minseok blushed at the sudden question when the crowd of customers left the cafe. “Actually, Jongin paid for me. He offered me this trip with him as a congratulatory gift for successfully completing my Bachelor’s degree and as a birthday present. And don’t make me feel even guiltier about it. He has been doing enough for me as it is; him paying the traveling fees makes me uncomfortable.”  
“That’s very nice of him. I like him a lot. He doesn’t look as self-centered as the artists I met at your exhibition. They were nasty and rude.”  
Minseok couldn’t deny it; artists could be quite obnoxious, especially the ones from big cities, like the one Minseok was settled in. “Jongin has quite the charm, might I add. The day my wife and I spent with him a few weeks back made me understand why you’re so infatuated with him. He’s got good manners and a lovely personality. And he’s good looking too. You got quite the catch there.” Minseok stared at Des, wide eyed, before his cheeks tainted red from embarrassment, only for the dusty pink they already had acquired due to the scorching, hot weather to deepen. “Don’t look at me like that, son, you’re head over heels for him and he’s the same, if not even more.” The younger almost choked on the piece of cheese he had in his mouth. “Des!”  
“You should see the look in his eyes when he’s lookin’ at you; he’s totally in love with you. Even I was embarrassed witnessing it at times. Ah! Young love will always amaze me. I’ve seen lots of couples in my life, but rarely have I seen such looks from one of ‘em. Treasure him as much as you can, son. There ain’t no other man like him.”

Minseok swallowed the delicious piece of cheese with the help of his coffee and thought about what Desmond had just said, about the past year. It had been quite an eventful and especially emotional one. From his struggles at the start of the autumn’s semester to his multiple breakdowns, from the moment he had started to uncover Jongin’s true facets which he only had access to even to this day. Never could he imagine that he would be going on a couple trip with him. If someone would have told this to him months ago, he wouldn’t have believed it and would have brushed it off with a good laugh. Kim Jongin, the man he adored, then despised, had turned out being the man that made him the happiest. Del and Des were his dearest friends and they helped him a lot, but Jongin had truly turned his life upside down.  
He had been thinking about it a lot the past days, wondering how his life would have been without Jongin’s daily flirting, his unsubtle looks at university, his endless praises and teasing whenever he had the occasion to sneak a hand on his back pocket or to steal a kiss out of prying eyes, even daring to do such things in public places, his loving gaze when their eyes would meet, his advice on his art works and his encouragement whenever he felt down. He wondered what he would have done without Jongin’s unconditional love, without his strong hold on him that enabled him to completely fall and stand up again when he needed it the most, without his warmth enveloping him, mentally and physically, without his antics that always cheered him up. He wondered how he would have managed to cope with his thesis without the distraction of his random, cheesy lines, or his many surprise visits at his atelier, or even their intimate times that made him forget all his worries.  
The mere thought of Jongin managed to spark so many emotions within him, to make all sorts of tingles come alive in his whole body. Just his presence alone was enough to brighten his days. Minseok felt so warm and great around him, at ease. He could be himself without any restraint, he could show all of his colours, good or bad, and know that Jongin would never push him away because of it. Even though Minseok was still scared to fully commit into a relationship and had just revealed his reasons after keeping his promise of doing so, Jongin was kind enough to understand him. Jongin had that special something, that comfort and bond, trust, he had been longing for. Now that he was dating him, he couldn’t picture his life without him by his side. It was unimaginable.    
Minseok realised that Jongin was giving him what he had been needing the most all of his life; love. Genuine, pure love.

“You look happy, Minseok.” Des pulled the younger out of his train of thought, making him direct his attention to him rather than his cup of coffee that was cooling down. “That smile and expression on your face, I have never seen it before. It’s beautiful. You deserve this happiness, son.”  
Desmond brushed Minseok’s arm affectionately, like a father would do to his son. When he gazed into the older man’s eyes, Minseok saw a few tears accumulating in their corners. “My wife and I didn’t have the occasion to have a son of our own, Audrey couldn’t bear children because of some genetic problems, but we have always considered you as a part of our family. I am proud of you, we are proud of you. Congratulations on finding a lover worthy of you, and for graduating.”  
“Des-”  
The tears that were previously welling in his eyes now flowed freely, making Minseok teary eyed as well. He squeezed Desmond’s hand in his before wiping his own tears. “Des, I have also considered you two as the parents I couldn’t have. You’re much more of a father figure to me than my real father, who rejected me after finding out about my dream and my sexuality. I can’t thank you enough for everything you have done for me. I am so grateful. I love you so much, Des.”

The two men cried silently for a while, smiling so widely their cheeks hurt. Minseok had never been so happy, had never felt so well surrounded. He may have had very bad luck with his parents, having grown up with people who despised his identity and his passion, who had never supported him regardless of the many struggles he had to constantly deal with, but he had met some amazing people who encouraged him to be himself and to strive and fight for what he believed was right. And it was more than enough.  
“Grown men shouldn’t cry like babies!” Rosemary shouted from the kitchen, grinning.  
They kept crying for another moment before laughing it off and joking about what she had just said while finishing the plate of bread and cheese. Once they were done, they bid her goodbye and left the cozy café to continue their stroll around the small town, spending the next day together as well,  making the best out of their shared short break while they could, as father and son. Maybe not by blood, but by soul.

 ___________  
_A week later._

Minseok was fidgeting as he sat in front of the flight’s gate at the airport, only a couple of minutes before boarding time. He had never taken the plane before and for some reason, he couldn’t stay still. He was nervously playing with his phone while Jongin was busy doing something Minseok didn’t catch, too immersed into his catastrophic scenarios about possible plane crashes. He couldn’t help it even though Jongin had assured him that such things didn’t happen often. While he was playing around with his phone, he received a text message from Del.

 _From: Del_  
_Got everything packed?_  
_I’m sure you still managed to_  
_forget something even if i help-_  
_ed you out_

Minseok scoffed while typing away, recalling the day he had spent with Del rampaging his apartment to pack his belongings for his first trip ever abroad, taking this as a best friend’s duty. She had even made a list that they checked together, whining and insisting on Minseok bringing some unnecessary “sexy underwear” she had bought herself and that, she claimed, would make Jongin crazy, because they would supposedly have plenty of time to do some dirty things while being away and because a trip like this would undoubtedly need some spice for it to be memorable. These were her words. Fortunately, he had managed to take her gift outside of his suitcase while she was distracted. Del: 0, Minseok: 1.

 _To: Del_  
_Tsk 😲_  
_Don’t you trust your best friend?_

 _From: Del_  
_No, i don’t._

 _To: Del_  
_😝😝_

“Is Del worried about you again?” Jongin’s mouth ghosted over his nape, warm breath fanning against it before he left a chaste kiss on his skin and flopped down on the seat next to him. Jongin shuffled with a plastic bag and put it under his seat while glancing at Minseok’s phone. “When isn’t she? But it’s normal. After all, I am traveling alone with you. She has every reason to be concerned,” Minseok exclaimed playfully before putting his device in his pocket and pointing towards the bag Jongin brought back with him. “What is that for?”  
“Just some food. Airplane meals are not worth tasting, love. As the perfect boyfriend that I am, I am doing you the favor of avoiding it. I bought some sandwiches and salads.” Jongin draped his arm around Minseok’s shoulders before nuzzling his neck and kissing it lightly. “Perfect boyfriend? I wonder who you’re talking about. And don’t do this kind of thing when there are so many people around.” Minseok pushed Jongin away successfully while a blush rose from his neck to the tip of his ears as he tried to hide from the prying eyes by making himself smaller on his seat.  
“You’re so cute, Minseok.” He squeezed his shoulders and whispered in his ear, “And we both know very well that I am the perfect man for you. You will be even more convinced about it after the trip.” Jongin’s hand trailed down from his shoulders to his hips, caressing the spot shortly before hooking a finger in his pants, tugging at the fabric teasingly, while he bit his earlobe and tugged at it, his hot breath fanning his skin and causing shivers to crawl up his spine. Minseok gulped and restrained a groan from escaping his lips before scanning their surroundings. No one seemed to notice Jongin’s sneaky gestures. He wondered how come Jongin always managed to act so thoughtlessly in public but no one ever paid attention to his dirtiest touches. He pushed him away once again and scolded him while Jongin smirked and finally kept quiet.

The flight went well, Jongin being unusually calm and sleeping almost the whole time while Minseok watched a few movies from their fancy seats, Jongin having booked tickets in the business class. The flight lasted a few hours and even though he didn’t manage to fall asleep because of his nerves, it passed by quickly. After all, it was his first trip of this sort and he was really looking forward to it. They arrived in Switzerland safely, to Minseok’s relief, before taking the train and heading towards the first destination for their trip in Tuscany: Marina di Carrara. Minseok was especially excited about staying there. He had always wondered why Jongin kept calling him ‘Carrara’, the place they would visit at the start of their trip, and he would finally witness what Jongin called “an unrivalled and breathtaking beauty”.

The couple arrived late at night in Marina di Carrara, in a small and friendly hotel that Jongin had booked beforehand, just like the entirety of their trip. Minseok had absolutely no idea about what Jongin had planned, the latter insisting to keep it a surprise and assuring him that he would love every second of it. Minseok had no doubt that the trip would be fantastic. He trusted the man with his life, after all.

Minseok only realised what the trip involved when he saw the double bed in their room. He had had his fair share of intimacy with Jongin, but knowing that he would spend three weeks living with him, being in his company 24/7, only fully hit him at that moment and he couldn’t hide his nervousness. As Minseok stood frozen in their room, Jongin took the luggage from his hands and put it by their bed before circling his arms around the younger’s torso, back hugging him and kissing his head tenderly. Jongin’s warmth against his back made him unconsciously melt in his embrace, resting his weight on the man’s wide chest. He let Jongin’s hands caress his abdomen and his waist while he rested his hands on his boyfriend’s, giving in to his touches.  
“Minseok, my love,” Jongin whispered soothingly, his voice so warm and loving that it left Minseok completely at his mercy. “It’s finally the two of us, just us two, in Italy. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long.” Jongin pecked the back of his ear, “It almost feels like a honeymoon.” He spun Minseok around, who couldn’t hide the crimson colouring his cheeks, “Don’t say such things.” Jongin chuckled lightly and held him closer, kissing his forehead before claiming his lips in a sweet kiss.  
“I love you so much, Minseok. You have no idea to what lengths my love for you can drive me.” Minseok cupped the older’s cheeks while gazing at him, his worries washed away.  
“I love you too. I am so happy to be with you right now, only the two of us.” Minseok pulled their faces closer before locking their lips once again, diving more deeply into Jongin’s cavern as the latter eagerly reciprocated the kiss.

 ___________  
_The next morning._

“I am not sure if this is a good idea. No offense, Minseok, but it’s the first time I heard you mention anything about knowing how to drive.”  
“I am hurt. Don’t you trust your other half?” Minseok overdramatically feigned being hurt, clutching his heart and making the puppy eyes he knew Jongin couldn’t resist.  
The couple was in front of a motorbike rental store, one Minseok had spotted when they arrived in the city and wanted to check, currently trying to convince Jongin to rent one for the day. He had spotted a specific engine he was particularly excited to try.  
“And you can drive it? You have experience in driving motorbikes?”  
“Contrary to your expectations, I do. I used to have a motorbike not long ago before selling it to pay for my uni fees. I ain’t no beginner at this, Jonginnie,” Minseok winked smugly, enjoying a worried Jongin way too much. It was truly a sight to behold. He seemed very reluctant about riding a motorbike for some reason and Minseok wouldn’t miss this golden opportunity to tease the shit out of him. Having the upper hand was fun, especially when it was over Jongin.

After a lot of whining and irresistible pouts, his assets that Minseok knew would never fail to make Jongin succumb to his charms, the older finally surrendered, mumbling something about how Minseok was going to be the death of him, figuratively and literally since he didn’t seem to have any trust in the safety of a motorbike. Minseok insisted on renting the motorbike himself, not taking any chances in case Jongin would have his sneaky ways and rent it for an hour instead of the whole day.

It was with a roaring engine and a scared-but-too-proud-to-admit Jongin glued to him, his arms strongly secured around his waist and his tensed body against his back, that they went on their road trip to explore some of the province’s beauties. They started at the Marina of the town, engaging in a few highways and passing by a few cities surrounding the Wildlife park, their trajectory circling it. They stopped at a few places, tasting some delicious local food while walking around the beautiful streets, whenever Jongin would start to feel too dizzy from the ride or when they would simply spot a town they found interesting enough to visit quickly. Jongin brought his camera along with him everywhere, taking multiple shots of the sceneries and also of Minseok when he would be unaware of it. He had managed to capture Minseok’s breathtaking expressions when in awe in front of a landscape or in bliss with tasty food in his mouth.

As expected, the whole ride took the entire day and they ended their road trip by driving by the coast and making a last stop in Marina di Pietrasanta, taking the opportunity to stop by the bridge while enjoying the sunset, taking in the beautiful view before going back to Marina di Carrara, Jongin’s body flushed against Minseok’s back, way more relaxed than in the morning. Minseok was feeling incredible, free. The sound of the engine alone relaxed him to no end. He deeply missed driving his motorbike, enjoying the liberating feeling whenever the strong wind would brush against his body. But having Jongin by his side, hanging onto him like his life depended on it for the whole ride, his warmth so comforting and comfortable, made him appreciate their trip even more. The way his hands would clutch his shirt whenever Minseok would break fast or make a sharp turn, or when they went through a rather bumpy road, was extremely cute and endearing. Sometimes, he even sped up expertly to make Jongin freak out a little bit, earning some low and frightened gasps on a few occasions, which made Minseok smile in victory. He mentally noted to tease Jongin about it every time he could. He had to use the newly found weakness to his advantage. It would be his payback for Jongin’s constant teasing.

The next day was spent in Carrara, and after witnessing its wonders, Minseok was incredibly flushed by his pet name. They visited the marble quarries, the main reason why Jongin started calling him ‘Carrara’ in the first place, and no words would ever be able to describe its beauty. They went on a tour to visit the marble cliffs and mines, following the directions of a very friendly guide who shared its history and knowledge on different types of marble and their uses. Minseok knew a little about it, as an artist who had taken various classes on sculpting, but he had never dug deeper into the subject and it was absolutely fascinating. This also made him feel closer to Jongin, being able to have a better understanding about his artistic field. He admired the works of sculptors in general even more now. But most importantly of all, he was blown away by the beauty of the marble quarries and after coming to a realisation of what his nickname meant, the warmth and clenching in his chest grew with more intensity, as this nickname traced back to his exhibition, and he recalled all the past times Jongin had called him ‘Carrara’.  
His heart was beating frantically throughout the whole day, even when they visited the city after the tour in the marble quarries. Jongin had been sending signals about his interest in him for such a long time yet Minseok had been too blind to see it. He felt like he was falling in love all over again when the realisation hit him. Jongin truly was a whole other league on his own and he was hopelessly in love with him and all his weird and lovely antics.

 ___________  
_A week later._

The first week passed by fast. After visiting Pietrasanta and Carrara, they visited a couple of places in the province of Lucca before spending the next week in Firenze, a much awaited stop. This time, they spent the whole week visiting a couple of museums and the Palazzo Uffizi, admiring the many impressive and imposing works of art and the architecture of Michelangelo’s birth city. Minseok was delighted to see some of the pieces he had studied in his classes, their beauty far from being faithfully captured in any picture.  
During their trip, Minseok also learned that Jongin was fluent in Italian, taking care of most of the talking and orders whenever they were out. And his perfect pronunciation was damn sexy. Romance languages had always been appealing to Minseok, but every word running off Jongin’s tongue made his stomach twist in delight, making him want to just kiss him with all his might and surrender to anything he would ask of him. Jongin would even go so far as to whisper what, Minseok guessed, were dirty things into his ear in Italian while dragging him into some deserted alleys before plastering multiple kisses on his face and neck, hands roaming everywhere on his body and soft lips tasting him. He wouldn’t admit it to Jongin, but it was incredibly thrilling to have such intimate moments like these in those narrow paths, knowing nobody was looking but still nervous about the possibility of someone bumping into them as Jongin had him caged against a wall and kissed the living daylight out of him before murmuring some Italian words, rolling his r’s so deeply and seductively Minseok melted on the spot. Jongin didn’t know how to keep his hands to himself but Minseok wasn’t complaining.  
Jongin was walking around the city as if it was the most natural thing, not even needing to check a map or ask for directions. He kept leading Minseok everywhere skilfully, even through the most lovely, unpopulated, little roads to avoid the overcrowded streets. He moved around like Firenze was his second home. And Minseok absolutely adored the way he would explain the history of the many pieces they would see, especially his favourite statues or monuments. The way his eyes would sparkle with passion to his beautiful and pure smile, or the many excited gestures he would make while explaining the most ingenious details was absolutely enchanting. The man was right when he had claimed that he’d convince him of being the perfect boyfriend for him; he had been ever since their first day. And it was only intensifying with every passing second.

Their second week was already reaching its end when Jongin drove the two of them in their rented car to a different area, much to Minseok’s dismay since he would have loved to spend a couple more weeks in Firenze. They were now in the countryside, driving past multiple vineyards.  
“Jongin,” Minseok pouted, trying to get Jongin to spill the whereabouts of their next destination. The road had barely any indications and Minseok couldn’t recognise a single name either when they’d actually cross road signs. “Please, tell me where we are going!”  
“No can do, love. My lips are sealed.”  
“Will you say it if I kiss you?”  
“Trying to bribe me and getting bolder now that you have come across one of my weaknesses?”  
“So there are more, huh?” Minseok smirked at the mere thought of possible ways to tease him more in the future.  
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, unless you want a punishment.”  
“Are dirty thoughts the only thing you have in mind? Even your pieces are mostly about some kinks or just plain sexual, be it your sculptures, photos, paintings or even sketches. Don’t deny the fact that you’ve been sketching me multiple times while you thought I was asleep, because I caught you, just so you know, and some of them aren’t very innocent.”  
“You love it as much as I do, don’t hide it,” Jongin winked smugly. “And I wasn’t thinking about this kind of punishment. So whose mind is tainted with these thoughts after all?”  
Minseok’s cheeks reddened, completely at a loss about what he could retort to that. Jongin had a point.  
“It’s your fault my mind is as corrupted as yours.”  
“And it’s one of my greatest achievements to this day.”  
Minseok brushed him off before a comfortable silence fell upon them, the couple smiling widely.  
“What’s the punishment you were thinking about?” Minseok asked after a while.  
“Not telling.”

As they were reaching their destination, they passed by a sign that said “Viticcio” and they entered a very wide area filled with multiple vineyards that extended for miles on end. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at a huge farmhouse. Jongin parked the car close to the entrance and stopped the engine. He rubbed Minseok’s thigh soothingly, seemingly a little bit nervous.  
“What is it? Is there something wrong?”  
Jongin’s silent response unnerved him and he put his hand on the older one’s, stroking it gently before locking their eyes, Jongin’s ones hesitant.  
“I just hope he isn’t here … I confirmed with Giulia that he wasn’t home but I am still a little bit worried. I am sorry, Minseok, but if we come across a man called Domenico, don’t mind him being clingy and all.”  
Minseok looked at him, perplexed, “Why? Who is he?”  
Jongin sighed and ruffled his hair, “We had an adventure when I last came to Chianti and he was quite a stubborn one. I am close to the family running this place and it is my favourite vinery in the area, so I didn’t want to let it influence our visit, but if he ends up being here and being insistent, please don’t mind him. But Giulia told me he was away and wouldn’t be back for a few days. He didn’t mean anything to me, I-”  
“Jongin,” Minseok brought his hand to Jongin’s chin, tilting it towards him, and smiled. “Thanks for telling me. I trust you, so don’t worry, alright?”  
Minseok shifted in his seat and leaned over Jongin, sealing their lips as he kissed him tenderly, Jongin cupping his cheek with one hand while the other caressed his neck, pulling him closer and trailing his hand down to his hips. Jongin smiled against Minseok’s mouth, “Where does all this confidence come from?” He squeezed his butt, making Minseok giggle and pull away.  
“I am yours and you are mine, right? You said it clearly. And we should go into that vinery, because I can’t wait to see what you have planned.”  
“I love you so much.”  
“I know you do.”  
“Minseok, you can be such a tease at times. I love it.” Jongin groped Minseok’s ass again before stealing another kiss and exited the car, Minseok following him.

They entered the farmhouse and were greeted warmly by the family owning the place. The woman called Giulia and her husband welcomed them with pecks on the cheeks and warm handshakes before introducing some of their children and workers on the vineyard. They chatted excitedly with Jongin in Italian while Minseok scanned the place, impressed. It was huge but had a homey feel to it. It was quite crowded too, many people constantly entering and exiting the place accompanied by the workers. While Minseok was studying the place, Jongin wrapped his hand around his waist and pulled him to his side possessively, introducing him to the family and kissing his cheek. Minseok blushed at the attention before the older couple guided them through the vinery. They assisted through the whole process while they learned how wines are made from scratch, even went outside and walked around the vineyards before tasting a few of their products, each of them absolutely fantastic and definitely of great quality.  
Minseok was delighted; Jongin had planned a personal visit with the family members that owned the place and that were visibly very close to him, just for his sake, and he had introduced him as his boyfriend, which made Minseok incredibly happy. Jongin stayed close to him the whole time, translating everything they said when they spoke Italian, even though they spoke English most of the time to accommodate him. The owners were truly loving and warm-hearted people.

When they entered a special area where they would try making their own wine, Minseok being overly excited about it, a young man walked in, pecking the owners’ cheeks and hugging them shortly. “Jongin! Ciao, mio amico!”  
Minseok felt Jongin tense and flinch next to him. “Fuck, I knew it. There was no way he wouldn’t come here knowing I’d drop by, that bastard.” Jongin sighed and feigned a smile before responding back and shaking his hand politely.  
The man, who soon introduced himself as Domenico without sparing more than a single glance at Minseok, sat right in front of Jongin and started talking animatedly. Rather than being disturbed, Minseok was amused, barely managing to mask his chuckle when he saw Jongin’s struggling expression, probably trying to push the man away who turned out being quite clingy, as he had warned him. Minseok realised how much he trusted Jongin at this point. If this were to happen a few months ago, he would have been more than insecure, but now he was totally unbothered by Jongin’s former fling. He actually enjoyed watching the two interact, Jongin a little bit caught off guard. Minseok had gotten to see a lot of unexpected sides of Jongin so far in the trip and he loved it.  
Out of the blue, Jongin suddenly intertwined his hand with Minseok’s before lifting them up and resting them on the table they were sitting at, making Domenico’s gaze flutter at them. Jongin kissed the younger’s knuckles before smiling at Minseok sweetly. This was enough to do the trick as the Italian man put more distance between them, Jongin blatantly ignoring him only to stare into Minseok’s eyes and scoot closer to him. Minseok couldn’t deny that he was extremely pleased, and Domenico’s crestfallen expression was enough to make their visit a hundred times more entertaining.  
They spent the rest of the visit making their own wine under Domenico’s stare and the help of the older couple of the family, Minseok going as far as playing along with Jongin and being especially willing to joke around and allow more skinship than he usually would in public. He couldn’t tell what had gotten into him, being so bold in front of other people, but he was feeling particularly possessive and even proud to be with Jongin. When they exited the place, it was already sunset. Giulia escorted them and insisted that their visit and the bottles of wine they took back with them were on the house. A distressed Jongin tried to convince them of accepting at least some tip but they were firm and so, they bid their farewell.

Their ride back to the place they were staying was silent, filled with contentment. They drove deeper into the countryside, eventually arriving at a cottage that Jongin had rented for them both, a more secluded one in the region of Chianti, a very homey and absolutely beautiful place.  
“We’re spending the next two nights here and if you don’t mind, I would love tomorrow for us to relax, just you and me staying here or walking around, taking a few pictures and regaining some energy. We’ve been running around like crazy in Firenze and I am spent.”  
“Getting old, Gramps?”  
“I am young and in my prime, love. But if you insist, then yes, but remember that you are the one dating an old geezer. It’s your loss.”  
Jongin smiled cheekily, winking, and exited the car. Minseok smiled widely as well before helping him drag their belongings inside the cottage. He was looking forward to the next day here.

Unfortunately, since time was flying away too fast for the couple’s taste, the two men were already on their last day in Chianti. Just as Jongin had suggested, they spent the next day resting,  strolling around the cottage, taking a couple of photos and just lazing around, drinking a bit of the wine they had made themselves and breathing the fresh and pure air. It was a much needed break from their intense traveling schedule.

Jongin had already finished packing his belongings when Minseok was just starting doing his own. While trying to organise his messy trekking backpack, his eyes caught something unfamiliar that he didn’t remember having seen before. He pushed all his clothes out of the way and reached the material that was underneath his belongings. It was a robe, strangely resembling the kimono he recalled having drawn a few weeks back when Jongin had visited his atelier, as well as a note next to it. He grabbed it and read its contents.

“That little- How did she-” Minseok couldn’t believe that Del had bought a similar robe to the one he had sketched. He shook his head and put the note away before taking the fabric in his hands. The material was see-through and looked quite comfortable. The mere feeling of the material on Minseok’s skin was enough to make him see the sketch vividly, imagining it in his mind and how he had felt while sketching, his longing as his pencil was giving birth to Jongin’s wild imagination. Minseok was already itching to wear it and feel the material on his naked skin, but he stopped himself before he would succumb to the temptation, cursing Del’s name with a wide grin since she had managed to do such a thing. That was some typical Del work. Without waiting for his thoughts to stray again, he hid the robe in its initial place and headed for the shower.

When Minseok had finished washing up and tidying his belongings in their room in the cottage, he glanced at the window that was looking out to the backyard and admired the beautiful scenery in front of him. There was a majestic tree at the far right and some bushes around, as well as a set of chairs and a charming little corner with various flowers, their colours radiant. As he was looking at the beautiful vegetation, his eyes drifted towards the man sitting by the tree with a book in one hand, a glass of wine in the other and a pair of glasses perched over his nose. The sunlight was bathing him in shades of warm yellow and orange, creating shadows with the branches of the tree. His hair was moving slightly, following the soft caresses of the wind. Jongin truly looked ethereal and Minseok was in complete awe. He still couldn’t believe even to this day that Jongin was the man with whom he was sharing his life, the same man he had admired from afar for so long, the man he never once thought he would fall in love with and for said man to feel the same way as strongly.  
Jongin suddenly got up before putting his empty glass and book away on the grass, stretching his limbs under the warm sunlight and smiling, content. He turned around, facing his back to the window Minseok was watching him from before stretching again, bending his body from left to right to ease his sore muscles, flexing beautifully. Minseok decided to step away from the shadows and silently opened the door that led to the yard. He walked slowly towards Jongin’s direction, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the breeze brushing against his skin. When he reached Jongin, he had barely finished stretching when the younger circled his arms around the strong torso, back hugging him tightly.  He felt a pair of hands reaching to hold his, thumbs drawing circles delicately.  
“Carrara,” Jongin breathed out, his voice laced with enchantment and love.  
Minseok responded by nuzzling his nose in between his shoulder blades and pressed his body even closer to his boyfriend’s. Jongin felt a pair of lips softly pressing along and then trailing across his back, making him chuckle lowly and hum, serenely. Minseok could feel the sound vibrate through his back and shivered from the pleasant sensation that made him melt even more against the other.

“Jongin,” Minseok exclaimed, his tone serious as he squeezed the man in his arms harder, “Thank you.”  
Jongin spun around and held Minseok’s hands in his, but was interrupted when he started to intertwine them as the younger crashed onto his chest and hid his face in the crook of his neck, letting go of his hands as his arms still embraced him strongly. Jongin opted for resting a hand on his back and gently massaged his scalp with the other, threading his fingers through the short strands. Minseok groaned in satisfaction, his hands caressing Jongin’s back.  
“What are you thanking me for?” Jongin asked, swaying them slightly, the wind blowing its soft music through the leaves of the tree and the grass, plunging them into their own universe.  
“For everything,” Minseok mumbled against his neck, “For taking me to this fantastic trip, for taking such good care of me -even though you can’t keep skinship to a minimum- but still always making sure I am not uncomfortable. And I am especially grateful for you taking my well-being into consideration, for opting for the simplest things instead of renting some huge suite in a fancy hotel or going to a five star restaurant, for keeping it simple and comfortable for me, for making sure that I enjoy every single thing we do together. Every detail feels like it is customized for me. I don’t deserve such sweet and considerate thoughts and actions from you.”  
Jongin tried to create some distance between them, seeking eye contact, but Minseok was glued to him, hiding from his gaze. He whined when Jongin tried to pry him away from him and only hugged him closer with each attempt. But Jongin wouldn’t let Minseok hide from him, especially after saying such words he rarely voiced out, so he opted for the last resort: he tickled him, knowing perfectly well the location of his weakest spots, and stopped only when Minseok gave up, out of breath and red from both embarrassment and excessive laughing. He was so cute; cheeks tainted red and eyes glossy, flicking from left to right and avoiding looking at him while making himself smaller, shying away. Jongin couldn’t help but smile fondly at the sight, completely head over heels. Minseok would really be the death of him.

Jongin cupped his lover’s cheeks and claimed his lips in a soft and delicate kiss, only their mouths moving slowly before connecting their tongues, pouring their deepest feelings into every movement. It lasted for a while, Minseok progressively leaning backwards until his back eventually bumped against the tree, trapped between it and Jongin. When they caught their breaths, both of them flushed, Jongin’s hands found Minseok’s hips and stroke them lovingly.  
“Carrara, mio caro, carissimo amore,” Jongin purred, making Minseok tremble from his deep voice, surrendering into his warm arms with each word pronounced so beautifully and naturally. He started breathing heavily under Jongin’s intent stare, filled with pure rapture, and was left powerless under his caring touches. Jongin rested their foreheads together before pecking the tip of Minseok’s nose.  
“I am the one who doesn’t deserve you, Minseok. You mean the world to me, you leave me speechless by your mere presence. There is nothing more I can do than take care of you in the best way possible, because you’re the most precious person to me. I am incredibly thankful for you being my guiding light, for allowing me to be into your life and for loving me like you do. And I can see right through you. I know that you feel like you aren’t doing enough in our relationship, but that’s far from being the truth. You are enough and I am completely under your spell. I don’t know what I would do without you, my dearest love. I am completely ravaged, you turned my world upside down.”  
Minseok stared into his eyes, listening closely to his confession and bringing his body closer to his, hands roaming everywhere on his back as he was absorbing every word. Jongin then pecked his lips lightly before deeply gazing into his eyes, so expressive and blinding.  
“Mi stai facendo impazzire, Carrara,” he breathed out lowly, almost in a trance, pressing Minseok’s body against the tree with his own, biting Minseok’s lower lip with a moan, stealing Minseok’s breath and sanity away as both their pupils were starting to grow dilated.  
“Ti amo, mio amore. Mio bellissimo e puro amore.”

With these last words whispered, Jongin sealed their lips again, this time with more passion. Minseok circled his arms around Jongin’s neck, deepening the kiss as Jongin was hungrily raking Minseok’s hips, sucking his tongue and kissing him with desperation and love, eager and infatuated. Minseok didn’t know much about the Italian language, but he could easily guess what Jongin’s words meant and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to show him how much he meant to him, how strong his feelings were.  
In between their kisses, Jongin would whisper some words in Italian, thoroughly immersed into a trance-like state of mind, hands and mind solely focused on embracing Minseok like it was the first time, leaving a burning sensation of want on Minseok’s skin with each touch, making him feel loved and cherished.

They spent their last evening in the countryside under the tree, showering each other with unprecedented love, surrounded by nature and fresh air, the chants of the crickets mixing with their own, in their own intimacy as they were at each other’s mercy. Their skin covered in sweat met endlessly, their voices expressing their fervent love, their bodies and souls bare; the two men connected once again, never getting enough of one another. They ended up curled up, naked bodies flushed against each other in one of the chairs, a blanket covering them, eyes closed and lips stealing multiple kisses, warm from the summer weather and their own bodies, gaining strength merely by revelling in each other’s presence before leaving the next day for their final destination.

 

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ᴶᵒˢᵉ ᴳᵒⁿᶻᵃˡᵉᶻ ⁻ ˢᵗᵃʸ ᴬˡᶦᵛᵉ](https://youtu.be/NucJk8TxyRg)  
[ᴿᵃᵛᵉˡ ⁻ ᴵⁿᵗʳᵒᵈᵘᶜᵗᶦᵒⁿ ᵉᵗ ᵃˡˡᵉᵍʳᵒ ᵖᵒᵘʳ ʰᵃʳᵖᵉ⸴ ᶠˡᵘᵗᵉ⸴ ᶜˡᵃʳᶦⁿᵉᵗᵗᵉ ᵉᵗ ᵠᵘᵃᵗᵘᵒʳ ᵃ ᶜᵒʳᵈᵉ](https://youtu.be/bBm1w8J63mg)


	15. Italy pt II: The Lucidity Of Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> series: « Ｔｈｅ　Ｌｕｃｉｄｉｔｙ  
> ｏｆ　Ｄｒｅａｍｓ »  
> artwork title: ‹ (reclining) nude ›  
> Ｅｄ　Ｈａｓｌａｍ

___________  
_Two days later._

Jongin stretched in the covers and let out a groan of satisfaction, feeling the presence next to him snuggle deeper into his side as he moved. They've been in Sienna for two days already. “Good morning, my love,” he pressed a kiss on Minseok’s crown, a blissful feeling surging through his body and he was ready to get up, but was held back by arms around his waist. Chuckling, he patted the mop of bed hair leaning against his chest, “Minseok, I need to go to the toilet, could you please let me go?” The addressed male huffed out a noise of frustration but let go anyway. It was unusual for Minseok to stay under the covers longer than Jongin did, but he didn't complain.  
When he came back from the bathroom, Jongin found Minseok sprawled across his side of the bed, face buried into his pillow. Wandering over to Minseok’s side of the bed, he lay down on his side and stared at his side profile.  
“Minnie, what are you doing there?” He let his hands glide over the expanse of the exposed skin of Minseok’s back before starting to thread his fingers through his lover’s hair, who purred in delight.  
“Getting high on your scent,” came the muffled answer from his pillow.  
Jongin chuckled and continued playing with Minseok’s hair. “Why would you smell my pillow when the real deal is next to you?” Minseok raised his head a little, still refusing to open his eyes, “Because your after-sex scent is the shit kids get high on these days.” His little button nose wrinkled cutely in disgust and his head flopped back into its initial position. Jongin just shook his head, “Did you drink while I was gone? You’re getting all weird right now.” “Told you, getting high on your scent equals the same, but the hangover is way worse.” Minseok’s hand patted his own lower back.  
Jongin always anticipated his boyfriend’s playful antics the most, and so he bent over and blew a hot huff of breath on his skin, placing a kiss on his lower back, “There, all better?” “Go away, you don’t have magic healing breath.” Minseok finally turned his head around and smiled at him with half-lidded eyes. Jongin’s intestines went haywire. He was so in love, it hurt.

Minseok was right, they both overdid themselves the night before. But Jongin couldn’t help himself when Minseok had stood in their hotel room, just in briefs, with Jongin’s camera in hand, asking if he could explain the usage to him with childlike wonder in his eyes.

 ___________  
_The evening before._

“Jongin?”  
“Yes? What is it?” Jongin heard Minseok pace around in the bedroom, apparently searching for something.  
“Where is your camera?”  
“Which one? The Leica?” Jongin was a little scared when Minseok’s head suddenly popped up from the doorframe to the bathroom, as he just stood there with a towel secured around his waist while shaving himself. In the mirror, he saw how Minseok’s eyes raked over his naked body before their eyes met in the reflection and Minseok awkwardly coughed to hide the rosy tint of his cheeks. Jongin couldn’t help but smirk at that. Looking away from Jongin, Minseok nodded and mouthed a soft ’yep, the Leica’.  
“I guess it should be under all the papers on the desk.” Minseok thanked him and left his sight. Jongin finished shaving and went towards the bedroom in quiet soles, approaching Minseok. On his way there, he spotted something interesting and bent down, pulling at a piece of fabric that shimmered from the bottom of Minseok’s trekking backpack. He let out a quiet whistle and read the note that came with it:

_You sneaky bastard, if you thought you could successfully_  
_get rid of my special little presents, you were mistaken._  
_Of course, I had a plan B in mind, because Min, you are so predictable._  
_Here’s a little something to add some spice to your trip with your loverboy._  
_I’m pretty sure he will be more than pleased when you wear it ;)_  
_I didn’t know you had such a kink, Minnie, but I won't judge you. Have fun!_  
_And remember, always have safe sex!_  
_With lots of love, your dearest, bestest of friends who misses you,_

_Del_

_N.B.: Don’t think I didn’t see your sketch when I passed by your atelier ;)_

He stood up again and finally reached Minseok, who was trying to figure out the operation of the analogue camera. Draping the piece of cloth over the shoulders of the smaller male, Jongin pressed flush against him, Minseok frozen in his embrace, his back pressed against Jongin’s naked chest, obstructed by the thin border of the robe. “Should I explain the mechanics to you?” Jongin whispered lowly into Minseok’s ear, enjoying the effect his voice had on him. Taking the Leica from his hold, he placed it on the desk and pulled Minseok’s arms through the sleeves of the robe and secured it with the belt, brushing his palm past Minseok’s already half erect penis. He inhaled sharply in his embrace. “Not exactly what I had in mind when I pictured you in the kimono robe, but Miss Dallas has extraordinary taste,” Jongin ran his hands over the sheer, lace material of the robe, pressing his lips on his lover’s shoulder blade while his hands lasciviously enjoyed the feel of the robe on Minseok’s skin, curling Minseok’s nipples between his fingers with the additional friction of the fabric. Minseok pressed closer to him and he dragged the tip of his tongue over Minseok’s earshell and grabbed his butt with his other hand. Minseok turned his head lightly to the side, granting more access to his neck. He slipped his hands under the robe and pulled the briefs off Minseok, who let him do it without an ounce of complain. Pressing his open palm over Minseok’s erection, he felt his heartbeat quicken against his chest and the way he inhaled. Jongin closed his fist around Minseok’s dick and used the friction of the cloth as he ran his thumb over the slit of the head, making Minseok whimper in the back of his throat. “Open your eyes,” Jongin whispered into his ear, “Turn your head to the right.”

Minseok obliged and caught Jongin’s eyes in the mirror they stood before the whole time. Minseok was breathing heavily and had his hands on the surface of the desk, back bent and his ass pressed against Jongin, whose hand was stroking Minseok’s dick and playing with his nipple under the robe, rolling his hips against him and leaving open-mouthed kisses on his back.  
“Jongin, please, fuck me--” Minseok moaned out, while his chest rose and fell with rapid breaths and Jongin turned him around, pressing against him. He let his hands run through Minseok’s hair before pulling at it and yanking his head back. Minseok let out a gasp and his hands shot out to steady himself against the desk, leaving him defenseless against his boyfriend. Jongin dragged his teeth over his Adam’s apple, sucking on it and continuously wandering downward with his mouth, letting go of Minseok’s hair as he secured his hips. Jongin dropped to his knees and looked up at Minseok, whose face was so wonderfully flushed, with half-lidded eyes, he was panting from the rough treatment he was receiving, his right hand covering his mouth, lips slightly open and trembling.  
Jongin decided to tease him and taste him. He dragged his tongue over the whole length of Minseok’s dick, using the material of the robe to his advantage, while his hands wandered between Minseok’s legs to fondle his balls before he pulled the cloth away. Minseok drew in a sharp breath when Jongin took his whole length into his mouth without warning. Jongin knew that there was lube under the desk and he blindly searched for it with his other hand while he was kneading Minseok’s ass, letting his tongue trail along the length of his dick. Running the tip of his tongue over the slit, he started bobbing his head up and down. Meanwhile, he managed to uncap the bottle and he coated his fingers in a generous amount of liquid and let his hand slide back in between Minseok’s legs. He dragged his middle finger right over Minseok’s hole that was still a little loose from the previous nights. They couldn’t keep up with their insatiable hunger for each other. He let his finger slide in, breaking past the barrier of the rim and Minseok almost buckled into him. Jongin pulled his head away and left soft kisses along Minseok’s length before nibbling and sucking on the tanned skin of Minseok’s thighs, while thrusting his finger in and out before adding a second one, fingering and scissoring him loose. Minseok’s legs were trembling so hard when he inserted a third finger, and by then he was moaning Jongin’s name, begging him to stop being such a tease and fuck him already. Jongin, on the other hand, continued to thrust his fingers mercilessly into Minseok, curling them to hit his prostate, his hand stroking his own dick, the lust too deeply rooted.

Minseok whimpered in protest when Jongin retrieved his fingers and slowly stood up. He kissed him harshly and Minseok moaned into the kiss, curling his small hands around his biceps to stabilise himself.    
Lifting him up, he turned around and threw him onto the mattress and stood over him, looking down at him. The younger lustfully let his own hand travel between his legs and stroked his dick, “Jongin,” he moaned when he increased the speed of his hand. Jongin felt a smile rise on his lips and he picked up the lube from the ground to throw it on the bed, but something caught his eye: the suspenders Minseok had worn all day long and that made him crazy with lusting. Minseok’s eyes went wide when Jongin finally crawled over to him and he retreated his hands, Jongin grinding against him before straddling him. Leaning over Minseok, he bit down on his lower lip and searched for his hands, before deepening the kiss, pulling his hands upwards and using the suspenders to tie his hands together and secure them at the headboard. He moved back and looked down at Minseok again, who was clad in a sheer women’s robe with his hands tied above his head, defenseless. He wouldn’t spare Minseok at all.

 ___________  
_The next morning._

Jongin rolled over Minseok and caged him between his arms, “Go away, you’re heavy.”  
“Are you calling me a whale?” Jongin nuzzled his nose into the crook of Minseok’s neck and inhaled his scent. “That’s exactly what I’m calling you and stop smelling me, I sweat through the night and I’m hungover,” Minseok still mumbled into the pillow.  
“But you didn’t drink much more than me?” Jongin rolled onto his side and threaded his fingers through Minseok’s hair, the younger turning his face towards him,  enjoying the care he received. “You have no idea. Did you forget that I sat together with the three old men? You have no idea what they did to me while you were gone, we killed the bottle of liquor in record speed.”  
“You didn’t seem that drunk to me.”  
“I wasn’t but the hangover, man, I’m going to take a shower,” his eyes shot open and he suspiciously squinted at Jongin right after he said it and added, “Alone.” His words had finality to them and Jongin just chuckled.

Once Minseok hopped under the shower, Jongin grabbed his phone from the nightstand and checked his notifications. His phone was blown up with them, mainly notifications from Instagram. He didn’t tell Minseok, but he had uploaded a photo of him without a caption when they were in Chianti: Minseok was standing under the tree at their cottage, staring up at it and trying to grab something, his arms outstretched while he was tiptoeing. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, only shorts,  his back turned towards the camera, a love bite on his shoulder just above the shoulder blade standing in stark contrast with the fairness of his slightly tanned skin and the colour palette of his surroundings. He was glowing.  
He scrolled through the comments, liking some here and there. A few comments won his attention, one in particular. He didn’t recognise the name but the comment just read:  
_seriously, i would recognise that back anytime 🌚_  
He tapped ‘reply’: _Miss, I have no idea what you’re talking about ;)_  
A few seconds later he received another notification:  
_hypocrite ;)_  
He smiled and contemplated what to do, before opening Miss Dallas’ profile, hitting the ‘follow’ button and scrolling further down her profile.  He was actually surprised at how many photos she and Minseok had taken together and a smile rose to his lips, knowing that his boyfriend had such a reliable and caring best friend, and he tapped the heart on a few of her photos. He should thank her one day.  
Going back to the comments of his post, he began reading again, and as usual, there were some less nice comments, but he couldn’t care less. A name snatched his attention.  
_If you dare to come back without a souvenir_  
_we’re not friends anymore._  
He shook his head, Yixing was always a special case, so he just sent him a ‘sure~ 😘’.

He scrolled again; it seemed like a lot of people were supportive of him being taken, even if it wasn’t official and some had even guessed that Minseok was probably the person from Jongin’s latest exhibition back in January.

The shower stopped and he heard Minseok curse, which sounded like he had stubbed his toe somewhere while stepping out of the shower. “Caution, my love!”  
“Yes, yes.” Minseok emerged back from the bathroom, clad only in briefs and dried his hair with a smaller towel. He looked down to Jongin who was still snuggling into the covers, “Jongin, do you think we can visit the Palazzo Pubblico today? I heard the view is spectacular from the terrace at the back of the building and, you know… Ambrogio Lorenzetti?” He hung the towel over the back of a chair near the desk and searched for something on it.  
“Yes, to be honest, even though I’m tempted to call Italy my third home, I’ve never visited the Palazzo?”  
“Third?”  
“My family is second and you’re first.” Jongin saw Minseok flush and the younger coughed awkwardly, “Could you stop being so damn cheesy?”  
“Only if you stop blushing so cutely,” Jongin winked at him, when Minseok turned around. He walked up to Jongin and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, lingering in his personal space a bit longer and smiling down at him. Jongin brought his hand up to cup the side of Minseok’s face and smiled lovingly, catching a stray drop of water with his thumb, “I love you, Kim Minseok.”  
“I love you too, Kim Jongin. Now, could you keep your hands off me for a little bit?” Minseok pressed a chaste kiss on Jongin’s nose; he always managed to catch Jongin off-guard with actions like these.

Minseok stepped up to the open balcony window where a soft breeze floated in, bringing the soft smell of summer and Tuscany with it. He stood experimentally before the closed door of the balcony, leaning on the wall next to it,  trying to figure out where the breeze was coming from before he turned his eyes towards his phone and looked down at it. He turned around and smiled at Jongin. He was star-struck and his throat went dry at the sight: Minseok was smiling so widely, the upper row of his teeth and gums showing, his eyes had turned  into upside down crescents and he could see the slight, almost unnoticeable upwards swing of the corners of his eyes, the slight curve his upper lip made downwards at his cupid’s bow. Minseok was perfect with all his flaws and impeccability. The slight sunburn on the bridge of his nose from running around outside so much, the melody of his laugh; Jongin felt all of it tugging at his heart strings. He giggled with his phone in his hands.

Jongin couldn’t keep his eyes off Minseok, who snatched his rolling tobacco from the little table on the balcony and began rolling one after he put his phone down. Soft music sounded from the opened door and Jongin realised that he was playing music from his phone, rolling his shoulders to the music and moving his body to the beat as he lit his cigarette. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back as he inhaled the smoke and released it from his slightly opened lips. The sun was peeking over a roof and illuminated his body from the waist upwards, from the slight sheen of hair around the navel downwards. His whole body bent towards the sun and Jongin at that moment swore he could see a pulsating glow like a halo around him. A breeze came in and let the sheer curtains flutter with it the moment Minseok turned around, one eye closed from the sunlight and an unbelievably wide and toothy grin on his lips. Jongin was totally awestruck.

The scene unfolding before his very eyes was like a déjà vu. He suddenly remembered the day he saw Minseok for the first time. Jongin was on his way to the university, when he came across a man with long hair, strands messily falling out of the low bound bun. He was leaning against a wall near the entrance bathing in the few rays of sunshine breaking through the leaf roof, smiling blissfully as the wind was brushing loose strands of hair into his face that he tried tucking back with his fingers, cautiously, to not burn them with his lit cigarette. He turned around and this was the first time Jongin saw Minseok’s face, the same serene expression on display. But this time it was directed at him and it made his heart swell and overflow with love and longing.

In October, the look was directed at Miss Dallas and Jongin could already feel back then a burning in his chest when she ran up to him and gave him a kiss on the lips - or at least that was what it looked like. That look suddenly had gotten him unbelievably possessive and he couldn’t pinpoint why. He was delighted when he saw Minseok attending his lectures, participating and being interested. It became clear he had a detailed understanding of Jongin’s work and wasn’t only there because of Jongin’s status, but was seriously interested in the subject. His thoughts concerning the young man made him sick, clouding his mind. In the most improper moments he popped up in his mind and Jongin started following up on his playboy reputation. He did everything to forget the man, sleeping around, going out with people, but it wasn’t healthy for him. He suddenly remembered a moment that made him sick to his stomach, the one time he had fucked a male student and suddenly his mind vividly pictured Minseok under him, screaming out his name while he had his shaft buried in the young man’s ass. He came on the spot, but managed to not breathe out Minseok’s name. His heart sank when he realised what the looks he had been receiving from Minseok during the lectures or when they crossed paths in the hallways meant. His eyes were screaming disgust and borderline hate and Jongin let this behaviour influence himself. He started nagging on everything Minseok did, calling him a slack-off, trying his hardest to find mistakes in his assessments… He wanted to hate Minseok for something the younger wasn’t even aware of and that was Jongin's mistake in the first place.

The penny dropped when Minseok confronted him in his office, his eyes emitting rage and hate, his whole body in such a ‘fight’ mode that Jongin was seriously scared that Minseok could crash a fist into his face at any moment. How the hate had suddenly dispersed into hurt. The day after he had found Minseok drunk in the park; in those two days Minseok had unbeknowingly confronted Jongin with everything he did not want to be. The first night he had held Minseok close to his chest, the younger was beset with horrid nightmares; the painful whimpers, the heart-wrenching sobs, the small pieces of inaudible mumbles that sometimes almost turned into screams. Jongin never believed that one single human deserved to suffer like that. Minseok had managed to make something in Jongin switch.

The night after Minseok received the confirmation that he had passed his Bachelor, he dragged Jongin to the bench where the older had found him and “spilled the beans”, like Minseok described it; the way his real family had treated him after he had announced his major to them and came out, they way they had outcasted him, how his first relationships were nothing but torture and betrayal, when he met Adelpha and Desmond for the first time and how their friendships blossomed. He cried a lot that evening, but he wasn’t sad, he seemed happy to finally be able to open up to Jongin without restraints.

“Jongin you’re going to catch some Italian flies if you don’t close your mouth,” Minseok smiled at him. He was still standing on the balcony smoking. Jongin shed the last bit of trance off and broke into a laughter, so overwhelmed with feelings he was afraid he might cry.

Just then he realised that he had taken photos of Minseok from the very moment, the image not  able to showcase even the tiniest bit of his ethereal beauty and grace.  
Jongin clearly hadn’t thought it through when he uploaded the picture on his Instagram. He was in such a need to communicate his desire to the world outside their close little bubble, he couldn’t contain himself. Like the time before, no caption.

Suddenly he heard Minseok chuckle, the younger looking down at his phone. “What’s so funny?”  
“No caption again? Say, Jongin, when will you ask me if I’m okay with you uploading my photos?” Minseok looked back up, a fond smile on his lips, his eyes crinkling oh-so-beautifully. Jongin’s phone vibrated with a new notification:

_the-lucidity-of-dreams, miss_dallas and six others liked your post._

He felt his face flush red when he remembered the username from a couple of comments and likes. It was a private profile without a profile picture, followed by Yixing and Miss Dallas. Always finding new sides of Minseok was one of Jongin’s favorite activities.

“Minseok, my love, could you grab me a small package from my suitcase?” he asked once Minseok had stepped back inside the hotel room. “Sure, which one?” Minseok looked curiously at him and Jongin tried to fight the smile rising on his lips. “A small package around this big,” Jongin indicated the dimensions of the package with his fingers. Minseok nodded and walked up to the closet, looking through Jongin’s suitcase, and after some rummaging, he held it above his head, “This one?”  
“Yes, yes.”  
Minseok walked back up to the bed and wanted to give the wrapped package to Jongin, who declined and just pulled him on his lap. Wrapping his arms around Minseok, the younger melted into the embrace and Jongin propped his chin up on his shoulder, “Go ahead, open it.” Minseok squinted at him like he always did when Jongin acted out of character. He slowly unfolded the brown paper and a small wooden box appeared. Curiously, he lifted  the lid off and out fell a key with a bear key chain.  
“I know it is a bit early to ask, but will you move in with me?” Minseok blinked at him a couple of times and remained mute. Jongin was already fearing that he had just made the rest of their stay awkward, before Minseok slowly started nodding and his lips parted in a melodious laugh. “You always beat me to it, don’t you? I love you, Kim Jongin.”  
“I love you too, Kim Minseok.”

 

ᵐᵘˢᶦᶜ  
[ʰᵃˡᶠ⁻ᵃˡᶦᵛᵉ ⁻ ˢᵗᶦˡˡ ᶠᵉᵉˡ](https://youtu.be/KOOhPfMbuIQ)  
[ᶜʰᵃʳˡᵉˢ ᵃᶻⁿᵃᵛᵒᵘʳ ⁻ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐᵉ ᶠᵒʳᵐᶦᵈᵃᵇˡᵉ](https://youtu.be/_U2RIB686eo)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was the last chapter of Diptych, a story that became dear to us, the writers, and the readers. Thank you so much to the two beta readers, El and Arrow, who have made this project possible and even more enjoyable. I can't express enough how grateful I am. Thank you, dear readers, because without your constant support and lovely comments, the experience wouldn't have been the same. Thank you for taking the time to read this story and to shower us with so much love. It means the world to us.
> 
> And most importantly, thank you, Jay, for accepting to co write this fan fiction with me. Working with you was such a pleasure and we truly shared some special memories. We also grew closer through this collaboration and you truly are a fantastic writer. Rarely have I seen someone with so much creativity, drive, talent and skills. Love you ♡


End file.
